Intelligence Service
Trust Phillippe Starck to be ahead of the curve. The trailblazing French designer has collaborated with leading Italian brand Kartell to produce the first ever chair design to be conceived and drawn up by AI. Philippe asked the computer programme Autodesk: “AI, do you know how we can rest our bodies using the least amount of material?” The outcome is a stylish curvaceous seat based on an injection moulding production that uses 100 percent recycled plastic.
Generative design is an explorative technology that allows creators and engineers to input their goals along with parameters such as materials, manufacturing methods and cost constraints. Autodesk then explores all the possible permutations of a solution to generate design alternatives. The software tests and learns from each iteration what works and what doesn’t. The AI Chair is a fitting addition to the Kartell London store. Kartell’s Autumn Collection includes Philippe’s sleek super glossy HHH Chair. Also made of recycled plastic, the seat is available in reused leather or Liberty fabrics. The initials stand for Her Highest Highness. A dauphine worthy piece of furniture.
The flagship London store is fittingly opposite Brompton Square where Min Hogg, the innovative Founding Editor of The World of Interiors, once called home. There are instantly recognisable pieces on display (Philippe’s Louis Ghost and Victoria Ghost Chairs) as well as new pieces (his Cap Table Lamp). Other designers represented include Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba (Albert Table) and Patricia Urquiola (Aaland Pouff). Rodolfo Dordoni, Ferruccio Laviani, Piero Lissoni and Fabio Novembre are the masterminds behind the Kartell Eyewear Design Collection.
AI continues to affect every aspect of modern life. Leana Wen wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post 7 October 2026 “AI might be our best hope to fix healthcare”. She stated, “Now, however, the country has a new reason for hope: artificial intelligence. That’s the big idea in health informaticist Dr Charlotte Blease’s new book Dr Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us — and How AI Can Save Lives. ‘The medical community needs to show leadership here,’ Blease told me. ‘We’ve got to stop sticking our heads and stethoscopes in the sand.’” Philippe Starck and Kartell are sticking their heads above the AI designed parapet.
