The German architect and designer Ferdinand Kramer didn't just translate the new principles of construction and design which arose in the inter-war years into his architecture, furniture and industrial designs, he was also a very eloquent writer on such matters, and thus helped, and continues to help, explain the motivations behind, and fascination with, functionalist ideals. Chair B 403 for Thonet by Ferdinand Kramer, as seen at The Kramer Principle: Design for Variable Use, Museum
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December is famously a half month - no one does anything useful in the second half of the month, unless eating, drinking and stressing can be considered useful! We however managed to more than fill the first half of December 2015 with Berlin based Bora Hong's cosmetic surgery of the Eames LCW, the architecture of Ferdinand Kramer in Frankfurt and a very long chat with Köln International School of Design director, and neuen Deutschen Design protagonist, Wolfgang Laubersheimer. Cosmetic Surgery
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Following on from the exploration of Ferdinand Kramer's design work in the exhibition The Kramer Principle: Design for Variable Use at the Frankfurt Museum Angewandte Kunst, the Frankfurt based Deutsches Architekturmuseum is presenting Line Form Function. The Buildings of Ferdinand Kramer, an exhibition dedicated to the German functionalist's architectural output. In many ways the logical follow up. And an excellent extension and completion of The Kramer Principle. So much so it makes you
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In the complete interview with Matylda Krzykowski ahead of the Depot Basel exhibition Forum for an Attitude, there is a statement from Matylda which try as we might we simply could not crowbar into our published text: "most people have never visited a design show, art shows yes, but not design shows" It hadn't occurred to us before. But it's true. You don't go to design museums do you? And presumably also not architecture museums! Or certainly not architecture musems if you don't go to
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According to our pictorial review of March 2013 it was "a month of travelling: Stuttgart, Chemnitz, Weimar, Dessau….. its amazing we found time to actually write anything……." March was 2014 was the same. Just replace "Stuttgart, Chemnitz, Weimar, Dessau" with "Frankfurt, Münsingen, Berlin, Weil am Rhein" It also explains the large number of half-finished drafts from March. Obviously we didn't find time to write everything!
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If we were to be completely honest we would have to admit that although we were aware of the name "Ferdinand Kramer", it wasn't until Frankfurt based manufacturer e15 launched a series of Kramer re-editions at Milan 2012 that we actually paid any serious attention to the man and his work. Something we are very thankful for. Born in Frankfurt in 1898 Ferdinand Kramer undertook a foundation architecture course in Munich before joining Bauhaus Weimar in 1919. Disillusioned by the lack of a
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