Our profession is not only to design furniture, lights and ashtrays, but is about solving problems with a strong analytical mind. This mind can also be applied to teaching, architecture, decoration, graphics, photography, film … The danger is that a designer becomes a specialist.
For example, the Eameses did four or five major steps in furniture design an then realized that they probably wouldn´t do much more. They then concentrated on education, films and installations. This type of designer is much rarer - and these are the best. I think we all agree that is so refreshing that there is nothing like big-city cynicism in these two. They are not exhibitionists, but good, honest, decent people. Wouldn´t it be wonderful if decency were important in becoming a good designer? No cynicism, no clever-cleverness … Those kinds of designers have their fifteen minutes of fame, but the history of the discipline will honour the descent contributions over the witty ones.
Rolf Fehlbaum in "Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec - Works", London 2012, p.153
Dipl.-Ing. Peter Karle (*1957), architect, studied architecture at the TU Darmstadt from 1978 to 1985.
From 1980 to 1986, he worked at the architecture firm Eisele + Fritz and from 1986 to 1991 he was a research assistant at the TU Darmstadt in the department of ‘Industrial Construction, Industrialised Construction and Construction Operations’.
From 1983 to 1985, he worked independently in an office partnership with Jürgen Usleber; from 1990 to 2010, he worked in an office partnership with Ramona Buxbaum.
In 1993, he was a fellow of the German Academy Villa Massimo in Rome.
From 2008 to 2024, he was Professor of Planning and Building in Existing Contexts at the University of Siegen, where he was also responsible for the Master's programme of the same name. From 2010 to 2019, he was Chairman of the Advisory Board for Urban Design of the City of Siegen.
He lives and works in Darmstadt and Siegen.