We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Vitalii Dorokhov ("VD").

Vitalii Dorokhov is a founder and design director at Studio68-32. He promotes the ideas of Kyiv avant-garde architects of the 1920s and sees his mission in demonstarting an exciting mixture of European and Asian cultures and styles to a wider public. It is his strongly held conviction that this style is ssomething to be proud of as it is an all-important link between the East and the West.

Vitalii Dorokhov Designs

We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Vitalii Dorokhov.

Designer Interview of Vitalii Dorokhov:

DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?

VD : From early childhood I loved to draw. And my parents allowed me to attend art school. I started going to art school at the age of 6. At the age of 15, I entered the College of Arts with a degree in graphic design and decorator. After college I entered the Academy of Arts and Architecture. Since 2003, I have been a co-owner of my own bureau. He began to engage in interior design in 1988.

DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

VD : Architectural workshop Studio 68/32 was founded and based in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2003. The Bureau consists of mature architects, artists, decorators, and furniture restorers. The architectural bureau is headed by Vitaly Dorokhov, Tatiana Dmitrenko, and Natalia Dmitrenko. The total number of employees of the workshop consists of six people. Our studio offers its exclusive design with no restrictions on stylistic preferences, and attention to detail, from the functionality to the latest decorative interior details. We offer Architectural Design, Architectural restoration, conservation, Construction site safety, Consultancy, Project Management, Project Financing, Furniture, and Interior Design, Interior Lighting, Architectural Modelling

DI: What is "design" for you?

VD : For me, the creative path in interior design is the essence of today's existence. Over a long period of work in this industry, I have found for myself the path to a new technological renaissance in the interior design of today and tomorrow.

DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?

VD : Most of all I like to design super-technological interiors where a mixture of New Deco style is intertwined with the super-technological Lux-style.

DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

VD : My favorite design is the interior of a Lufthansa Technik aircraft in collaboration with the design bureau MERCEDES-BENZ presented at the European Business Aviation Convention 2015 (EBACE 2015) exhibition and is planned for introduction into production and operation in short- and long-haul VIP and VVIP class aircraft.

DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?

VD : it was an interior in the style of Minimalism

DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?

VD : I am interested in 3D printing technologies for manufacturing surfaces from Kevlar mesh

DI: When do you feel the most creative?

VD : I'm feeling creative When I work in virtual space and create new forms

DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

VD : image of the work, function, form, style, material

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

VD : I experience a feeling of great concentration when in virtual space I travel through a newly simulated residential area.

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?

VD : I feel like I've come a long way and I'm starting to think about new things. Sometimes in some renovation projects I couldn’t believe that my team and I were able to find such an architectural and engineering solution.

DI: What makes a design successful?

VD : Successful design. This is a self-sufficient design of a work that will be appreciated by generations of people after us.

DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?

VD : When assessing interior design, I include more than 20 types of criteria by which I can decide for myself how successful this project is.

DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?

VD : The responsibilities of the Urbanist designer are to explain to society by what rules people can exist in the city and not only consume as an appendage of society.

DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?

VD : It's a difficult question. In Europe, this is most likely decoration and the lack of modern standards for technological home improvement

DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?

VD : I don't know

DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

VD : automotive design. Planning and design of sea yachts

DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?

VD : My design style is Cinema eclecticism and MAXI style

DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?

VD : In my country there are a huge number of architects and builders who influenced my development as an architect, especially during the period of the pioneers of modernism 1927-1952

DI: How do you work with companies?

VD : I cooperate with related companies that participate in our project

DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?

VD : First of all, look at the high-quality execution of working documentation. Documentation must be completed in the BIM 200-300 system

DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?

VD : We design using three-dimensional models of both buildings and interiors. And we pay especially much attention to the detailed elaboration of plans, engineering systems and furniture fittings. as well as the creation of detailed documentation for supplying the object with materials.

DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?

VD : Lamp, kitchen, sofa bed

DI: Can you describe a day in your life?

VD : At the beginning, I hide in a bomb shelter because, as a rule, we are bombed from 4 am to 9 am. Then I come to the workshop and start communicating with subcontractors on projects that are currently in progress. our working day is 18 hours.

DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?

VD : Friends, be sure to develop curiosity in yourself, draw a lot in order to train your brain, do a lot of modeling in order to train your motor skills. Develop the second hemisphere of the brain. This is necessary in order to immerse yourself in the virtual world of today and tomorrow.

DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?

VD : Lack of free time

DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?

VD : Function form and image

DI: What skills are most important for a designer?

VD : volumetric spatial thinking

DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?

VD : Revit, Lumion

DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

VD : I work around the clock

DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?

VD : Our team completed a recent project in London 250m2 in 31 days We did some of our projects within 1 year.

DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?

VD : How much does this project cost?

DI: What was your most important job experience?

VD : hospital design and construction

DI: Who are some of your clients?

VD : Private people. Construction developers

DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?

VD : Working in virtual space when I'm working with a form

DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?

VD : If Putin does not detonate a nuclear bomb in Ukraine, then I think that the time after the war will be happy

DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?

VD : I work in a team

DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?

VD : There is a new house project

DI: How can people contact you?

VD : I think people interested in professional communication can contact me

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

VD : Main question!!!! Friends, professionals, the time for change has come; you cannot design housing without taking into account the fact that today robots are becoming an integral part of society. It is necessary to radically reconsider the function of designing residential buildings, taking into account robotic service personnel