Korban/Flaubert is a design and production partnership between Janos Korban, a metal specialist, and Stefanie Flaubert, an architect. Founded in Stuttgart in 1993, the practice specialises in furniture, lighting and architectural installations in metal or plastic. The pair graduated from Adelaide University in 1988 (Korban in Arts, Flaubert in Architecture) and travelled overseas in 1990. Living in Stuttgart, Flaubert worked for the well-known German architect Günter Behnisch while Korban pursued his interest in state-of-the-art metalworking techniques and processes in a three-year partnership with the innovative architectural metal workshop of K M Hardwork. Korban and Flaubert relocated to Sydney in 1995, establishing a design workshop in Newtown before opening their current workshop and studio in Alexandria in 2001.

Since the mid 1990s Korban/Flaubert have developed a reputation for highly innovative design work ranging from multiple production plastic seating, such as the 'Pod' and 'Bongo' stools, to limited edition lighting and furniture, such as the steel mesh 'Membrane' chaise-longue, to site-specific commissioned sculptures for corporate clients. In recent years the commercially produced products have provided an important 'bread and butter' staple that has given the practice greater freedom to pursue more experimental work. This experimental approach, the heart of the unique Korban/Flaubert aesthetic, has been particularly nurtured in their current working environment which includes a separate studio and workshop. 'We treat design as a process of discovery and we use both spaces to generate and develop ideas and forms. In the studio we generally start by developing a three dimensional phenomenon or effect using simple model making techniques. The workshop operates as a laboratory for form, with model making, experimenting with materials and prototyping central to our methodology."

Korban and Flaubert draw inspiration for their investigations from sources as diverse as abstract mathematics and the natural world, but their completed work is rarely the outcome of a deliberate aesthetic path or a set technical procedure. Rather they let the experimental manipulation of materials and form dictate the nature of the final product. "Loose model experiments are developed along specific themes, with the freedom of not committing to any function in the early stages as the models become larger and larger we experiment with the effects of different materials and a function may emerge." The 'Tetra Split Block' is a case in point, its functions as table, light and sculpture transforming and emerging as its geometric components are unfolded and reconfigured. Characteristically, the Korban/Flaubert studio is liberally scattered with the intriguing abstract sculptural forms that are the working prototypes of this experimental methodology.

Korban and Flaubert's unique aesthetic, their idiosyncratic exploration of the ambiguous interplay between function and abstraction, structure and materials has delivered a growing reputation, both locally and internationally. The pair has exhibited widely including the RMIT-curated 'Hybrid Objects' exhibition in Tokyo and Melbourne, 2002, Designers' Block, London, 2002 and the Milan Furniture Fair in 2003. An installation of multiples of their clever 'Swaylamp' was highly-visibly displayed in the window of Selfridges department store, London during Designers' Block. More recently Korban/Flaubert's work was included in Object Gallery's 'Sydney Style' exhibition at the Opera House during the 2004 Sydney Festival. With a practice that manages to successfully balance commercial production with more creative, non market-driven limited edition pieces, Korban and Flaubert seem set to continue to carve a significant niche for themselves in contemporary Australian design.