Foster + Partners Industrial Design team has collaborated with German door handle brand FSB to launch a door handle collection that conveys the architecture firm’s
attention to detail.
The industrial design team at Foster + Partners – one of the world’s leading architecture firms, known for buildings such as London’s Gherkin – created the FSB 1291 and FSB 1292 door and window handles for FSB. They are regarded as a premium solution for civic and commercial spaces.
The cornerstone of the product family is FSB 1291 – a handle that combines a distinctive shortness with a flattened top edge, giving it a pronounced contact surface.
FSB 1291 with its pebble-like softness is designed to be pleasurable for both the hand and eye and was moulded to fit the palm. FSB describes the product’s subtly refined design as “elevating the overall experience of moving through a building”.
“When we take hold of a lever handle, this is often our first contact with a building,” said head of Foster + Partners Industrial Design, Mike Holland. “A coherently designed handle provides a warm welcome – through looks and haptic qualities geared towards utility and inspired by people’s needs.”
The initial design of the FSB 1291 shaped the rest of the product family, which includes FSB 1292 – a handle with a longer grip.
Further enhancing the tactility of the handles is the option of FSB’s new finish: Aluminium Pure. The brand describes it as “a visual and tactile advance and at the same time particularly sustainable”, as the usual final steps in aluminium processing are eliminated, leaving a raw appearance that makes the product easily recyclable. According to FSB, making aluminium in this way also uses less energy and water.
The FSB 1291 and 1292 handles are also offered in standard aluminium, stainless
steel and bronze. They come in a variety
of versions for different requirements and an EN 179-compliant model.
