It’s often been said that great design is intelligence made visible, and within that intelligence, are three criteria, first conceptualized in a first century BC treatise called "On Architecture" It was written by Vitruvius, a Roman engineer, whose practical and aesthetic benchmarks have been used, down through millennia in great architecture and in great interior design.
The three criteria are: commodity, or how a building or chair serves a useful function; firmness, or basic endurance, how the building or chair stands the test of time; and delight, how much the viewer or owner finds pleasure in the beauty of the building or chair.
The Porsche Design Group, located near Stuttgart, Germany, is a substantial example of a company that has re-purposed these classic Vitruvian benchmarks into a substantial sports-lifestyle brand. The Porsche Design luxury brand was established in 1972 by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the Porsche automobile company.
Today, Porsche Design creates clothing, Titanium eyewear, watches, leather products, and luggage. It has also created interior design products––kitchens, chairs, tables, sofas––all having the Vitruvian elements of endurance, functionality, and joy. There are Porsche Design stores worldwide.
The latest and most certainly imaginative evolution of the Porsche Design brand is the Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles, Florida. It will be opening soon, and is a showcase for the Porsche interior design collections. It is also the first of its kind with the Porsche Design name. Another is in process in Frankfurt, Germany.
One of its unique features is its Sky Garage system, a robotic parking garage, having 284 parking spaces for 132 units, allowing residence owners to park two or four cars right outside their unit. The owner’s cars can be driven to an elevator, called a Dezervator (named after the Tower’s developer, Gil Dezer) and sent up to the owner’s residence.
Dezer Development has sold 126 of the tower’s 132 units. But the good news is that the four-story penthouse is still for sale for $32 million.
The 19,000-plus-square-foot, four-level penthouse features full-length windows, 20-foot ceilings, and a private interior elevator. Arguably, the most spectacular feature is the in-unit garage, that has eleven garage spaces for eleven vehicles. The interiors of the Porsche Design Tower have been created by Porsche Design aided by Michael Wolk Design Associates, Miami.
The interiors and the public spaces combine Porsche Design dimensions of the old Vitruvian formula, but with an evolved, contemporary approach.
Images courtesy of Porsche Design Group / Porsche Design Tower
