Back in March 2011 we bemoaned the position of the fence surrounding the Vitra production facility in Weil am Rhein, and for all the disruption to the view across the Vitra Campus. Before the construction of the VitraHaus the fence offended no one, but since.... "Mr Fehlbaum, tear down this wall! Or at least move it a little bit. Please.", we cried. Paraphrasing the lonesome cowboy. And much like Mikhail Gorbachev needed two and half years to respond to Ronald Reagan, so too will it take
read more
On Friday February 23rd the Vitra Design Museum open their 2013 spring/summer exhibition, Louis Kahn - The Power of Architecture. Organised in conjunction with the Netherlands Architecture Institute "The Power of Architecture" is the first major Louis Khan retrospective in over two decades and promises to present the most comprehensive study ever of one of modernism's more interesting and alluring sons. Albeit a son of modernism we suspect many of you will never have heard of. Born in
read more
The MoMa in New York famously houses some of the most famous works of Pop Art. And just as famously some of the most famous pieces of mid-20th century design. They are only separated by one floor; however, the layout and curation are very much of the infamous "ne'er the twain shall meet" style. And given the size and configuration of the MoMa it is inconceivable that any normal visitor would be able to consider what they are currently viewing on one floor in the context of what was viewed half
read more
Post-DMY commitments in Berlin sadly meant that we couldn't attend the "Confrontations – Contemporary Dutch Design Live" event at the Vitra Design Museum. Fortunately the Vitra Design Museum and their partner, the Dutch design platform Premsela, have released videos of the five projects, through which of course one also gets a feel for the sixth project - the exhibition design by catalogtree. Shot by the experienced hands at designguide.tv the films offer a wonderful insight into the
read more
Parallel to "Gerrit Rietveld – The Revolution of Space" the Vitra Design Museum Gallery is staging an exhibition exploring some of the central themes of the great Dutch modernist's work: experimentation, recycling, working in unison with your materials. Under the title "Confrontations - Contemporary Dutch Design Live", five Dutch design studios will each collaborate with a company from the Basel metropolitan area to develop an object or installation using the respective firm's principle
read more
If your going to organise an exhibition called "The Revolution of Space", there is probably no more fitting location than Frank Gehry's "revolutionary spaced" Vitra Design Museum building in Weil am Rhein. Unless that it is your exhibition happens to be dedicated to Gerrit Rietveld a man whose canon is principally defined by linear, regular, sober forms. Then you might think twice. The Vitra Design Museum have risked the contrast and consequently visitors to "The Revolution of Space" are not
read more
Until September 16th the Grassi Museum Leipzig is showing the Vitra Design Museum exhibition The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction. And so keeping with the theme, we'll keep our post reduced and simply link to our post from The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein. Paul Weller is famously of the opinion that it's ludicrous to expect him to sing songs today that he wrote as an 18 year old. His world view having,
read more
As anyone involved in the designer furniture industry will confirm; it's a secretive old world. Probably only matched in its inherent furtiveness by the Freemasons, Papal Conclaves or the committee responsible for setting petrol prices. Simply saying that you might have heard that designer X may be considering a possible future cooperation with producer Y is to risk a long interrogation by a Product Manager wanting to know who told you what. The situation is even more clandestine when it
read more
Ostensibly established as a location for presenting and archiving Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum's private collection of designer furniture, the Vitra Design Museum has developed into one of Europe's most important centres for design, design history but for all, for explaining design and making design accessible. A large part of the museum's success can be credited to founding Director Alexander von Vegesack who led the institution from its opening in 1989 until the end of 2010. In January 2011 Marc
read more
Having got up in the middle of the night to travel through the depths of the European winter just to get to Weil am Rhein for the "Album" opening, you can imagine our joy when we heard that Erwan Bouroullec had frozen to his core while waiting to board the 6.15 Basel bound TGV. Not because we're cruel, heartless beasts who take pleasure in the suffering of others. At least not on this occasion. But because it is one of these nice reminders of how "normal" the design world is and designers
read more
Last summer we spent our annual holiday weekend in a small museum in the north of England discussing the life of a man who had hung himself 30 years previous. And folk say we don't know how to relax. The town was Macclesfield and the subject was Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Unquestionably one of the truly iconic figures in music history, the cult around Curtis is based to a large extent on a combination of his early death and the photos of the band. One of the speakers at the conference
read more
Last Friday we spent a highly enjoyable - and successful - day at and with Vitra. Texts to follow. We were just a little irritated by two demarcation issues. Like an analogy for the anthropogenic absurdity that are national borders, Basel Airport sits in both France and Switzerland. And has two passenger exits: One into France, one into Switzerland. We left through the Swiss exit. Our driver was waiting in France. Between us in the terminal building a glass wall. Outside a fence. What
read more
Although Alexander Girard worked closely with Herman Miller and designers such as George Nelson or Charles and Ray Eames; Alexander Girard's speciality was not furniture but fabrics, folk art and colour. Born in America and raised in Italy Alexander Girard studied architecture in London before a lack of architectural openings saw him spend several years working as an exhibition and interior designer; most notably in Sweden where he worked in the design department of the Nordiska department
read more
(smow)chair All this looking at, talking about and writing about other people's design, has left us yearning to get on with completing our own furniture project: (smow)chair. As already stated, the basic form and idea were developed in the (smow)warehouse here in Leipzig. The hard work was then done at the Vitra Design Museum Cardboard Furniture Workshop in Weil am Rhein. In conjunction with every exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum a programme of events is organised that aims to expand
read more
Having decided on our concept, all we had to do was ensure that the structure had enough stability. And although we knew that stability was going to be a problem, it always is with cardboard, we had seriously underestimated just how difficult it was going to be to incorporate stability into our plan without compromising weight, volume or indeed the very fabric of our concept. It took about four minutes before our carefully considered sketches were consigned to the bin. 3D reality and 2D
read more
In conjunction with the current exhibition "The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction" the Vitra Design Museum are running a series of summer workshops. "The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction" deals, as the name implies, with "reduction" in design: principally the reasons for reduction in design - be they technical, aesthetic or philosophical. Using this as the basis, the workshops encourage participants to think "reduced" and for all to create useful products
read more
On Saturday 20.03.2010 the latest Vitra Design Museum exhibition "The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction" officially opens. An exhibition very much after our own hearts. "The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction" explores the logic that "it is in the nature of human beings to seek the simplest solution" Although admittedly this is a logic that - despite its logic - all too many designers somehow manage to ignore, there are thankfully enough examples of good,
read more
Some 285 journalists were present for the press preview of Herzog & De Meuron's new VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein on February 12 2010. 285 journalists who were then obliged not to breath a word about what they had experienced until Saturday 20.02.2010...... Lets get the obvious point out the way first. The VitraHaus is magnificent. We approached Herzog & De Meuron's construction on foot from Mühlheimerstrasse and the first view over the car park was every bit as wonderful as we had expected.
read more
When we were still young, fit and healthy, towns and cities existed. Just existed. These days in order to exist a city needs to be the city of something. And so as one drives along a German motorway, every ten metres or so comes a large brown sign announcing the next conurbation as "Chemnitz - City of the Modernity", "Pied Piper City Hameln" or "Prien am Chiemsee - City of the criminally lazy taxi drivers". Not wanting to be the outsider in this age of claims making, Weil am Rhein has
read more
As announced yesterday we sadly cannot attend this years Stockholm Furniture Fair - because we have to go to Switzerland, and then quickly back over the border to Germany, or better put: The Official Preview of the Vitra Design Museum complex in Weil am Rhein's newest attraction. The VitraHaus. Designed by Swiss star architects Herzog & de Meuron - perhaps best known for the Beijing National Stadium or the extension of the Tate gallery in London - the VitraHaus is principally conceived as an
read more
...and the mistletoe and wine will almost certainly be in abundance - so why not give someone the gift of time this Christmas. Puns, we love 'em One of the true greats of clock design was former Herman Miller design director George Nelson and his classic 1950s clock designs are a gift that one can always give with confidence. A new addition to the range is the three Ceramic Clocks; designed in the early 1950s but which never entered production. On the basis of drawings and other technical
read more
As traditional as roasted chestnuts and corked sherry, gift recommendations are what make Christmas for us. This year, however, we start with a friendly warning. The lead times for many of our suppliers are creeping upwards - and although we have a well stocked and bountiful warehouse; should you want to order something extra special as a gift for a loved one, and we have to order it - it's getting tight. The "traffic light system" in the (smow)shop provides an instant guide to availability;
read more
The fifth Leipzig Designers Open is well ... Open. For the next three days over 150 international exhibitors will be presenting their furniture, fashion, jewellery and product/communication designs and concepts in the unique atmosphere of the Merkurhaus. We're old enough that we can recall numerous Merkurhaus tenants, but none that offered such a varied and high quality selection as at this years Designers Open. Which is proabably why they all stopped trading and while Designers Open grows
read more
Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor. The Trial by Franz Kafka. Madonna and Child with St John and Angels by Michelangelo. Although there are always ethical and stylistic questions concerning the completion of unfinished works, in principle it is always a joy to see someone who cares as much as the original artist complete a project. And so hats off to the Vitra Design Museum for it's decision to finally bring George Nelson's Ceramic Clocks onto the market. In 1945 George Nelson
read more
