On seeing a lamp grace a Jean Prouvé desk on the Vitra stand at Orgatec 2014 we termed it "a genuine reminder that good design is often the simplest solution" On seeing a lamp grace a Jean Prouvé desk in the VitraHaus, we concurred. Quietly noting that it was, in addition, "a genuine reminder that a good name is often the simplest solution" Plug Lamp by Form Us With Love for Ateljé Lyktan is both those things. Packaged in the most delightful and engaging object. A desk lamp with an
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In our post on the Pulpo Galerie in Lörrach we noted that "you don’t get your products shown in the VitraHaus just because you happen to have the correct postcode……." Being local doesn't count. Isn't an advantage. Your work must be good. And as if to prove our point...... Jason Miller's postcode is New York 11232 and his Modo chandelier for Roll and Hill can be found in the VitraHaus. Lars Beller Fjetland's postcode is 5032 Bergen and his Re-Turned birds for Discipline can be found in the
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What with the sweet afterglow of Vienna Design Week behind us we entered October 2013 full of enthusiasm - not least because it meant the opening of the new (smow) Cologne store. The month nearly nose-dived on account of a hideous plagiarism in Leipzig, but was more than rescued by Alison and Peter Smithson at the AIT ArchitekturSalon Cologne.......
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There is an old adage about turning problems into chances, of every cloud having a silver lining, of every thorn having its rose. One of the best examples of such is the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein. In the wake of a 1981 fire at the Weil am Rhein production site, Vitra found themselves needing to quickly rebuild. And needing a fire station. The first problem was solved by Nicholas Grimshaw with his Production Hall. The second by Zaha Hadid with her Fire Station. In the intervening 30+
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Back in October one of the joys of Orgatec 2012 in Cologne was watching visitors reactions to Hella Jongerius' Sphere Table for Vitra. Most were highly amused and assumed it was a new kids product. An opinion that quickly changes when you learn the background to the object. Developed for Hella Jongerius' recently completed redevelopment of the North Delegate's Lounge at the United Nations in New York, the Sphere Table is a response to a brief that said the lounge could contain no internal
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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
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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
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Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are without question two of the most important designers of their generation and are currently being honoured in two shows. The retrospective "Bivouac" currently on show at the Centre Pompidou Metz, and Album, an exhibition of their drawings and sketches that premiered in Bordeaux and is now on show at the Vitra Design Museum Gallery, Weil am Rhein, At the opening of "Album" at the Vitra Design Museum Gallery we spoke to Ronan Bouroullec about drawing, getting
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Tilbage i februar fejrede VitraHaus i Weil am Rhein sin første fødselsdag. Vi talte med Vitras chefdesigner Eckart Maise om VitraHaus og om planerne for fremtiden. (smow)blog: VitraHaus er nu ét år gammelt, er du tilfreds med det første år? Eckart Maise: Ja, VitraHaus har været en stor succes og 'resonansen' har været meget positiv, både med hensyn til antallet af besøgende samt den feedback vi har fået. Eksempelvis er besøgstallene for 'Vitra Campus' nu tredoblet i forhold til tiden før
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Back in February the VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein celebrated its first birthday. But was it all worth it? To find out more we spoke to Vitra Chief Design Officer Eckart Maise about one year VitraHaus and the plans for the future. (smow)blog: The VitraHaus is now one year old, are you satisfied with the first year? Eckart Maise: Yes, the VitraHaus has been a huge success and the resonance has been very positive both in respect of the number of visitors as well as the feedback. The Vitra Campus
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This year we are finally going to make it to Design Basel. In the past something else always seemed to get in the way; be it illness, other appointments or a feeling deep in our stomachs that it was all just a touch too elitist and too far removed from the world of the normal designer furniture customer to justify the trip. But this year we're healthy, free and a little older and wiser. It in its 6th year Design Basel features exhibitions from 43 international design galleries showing an
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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
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While critics denounce such as an easy and obvious way to generate content - for us reviewing the past year is an important step in planning our activities for the coming year: where to go, who to talk to, what to sit on and, just as importantly, what to ignore or give up. The only real problem for us is that in preparing such we realise just how much material we haven't had the chance to use - and so receive an impression of how much more material we will acquire in the coming year. Heck!
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On the last Sunday of the school summer holidays over 35 production companies in and around Kassel stage an annual collective "Open Day" - Blauer Sonntag. The name may be an extremely complex and over ambitious pun - the idea is however much more agreeable and this year we took the opportunity to visit Thonet in Frankenberg(Eder). For not only was Blauer Sonntag the first "official" event for the new Thonet Wohnshowroom, but visitors also had the rare opportunity to observe the Thonet wood
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It may not be the most universally recognised example of either Charles Eames' nor Eero Saarinen's canon however their 1940 "Conversation Chair" is without doubt one of the more important examples of 20th century furniture design. Designed for the New York Museum of Modern Art's "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition the Conversation Chair was a concept piece and Eames' and Saarinen's first attempt at moulding synthetics. At that time however the technology lagged somewhat behind
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If we're honest - and when are we not - the news caused more than little unrest in (smow)blog HQ: Last Wednesday the VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein greeted it's 100,000th visitor. And that in only 12 weeks! And with the VitraHaus now looking likely to attract more the 500,000 visitors in its first year, Herzog and de Meureon's structure is well on its way to becoming one of Germany's leading tourist attractions. Lovely! Admirers and fans of the VitraHaus can interact and share photos, tips and
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On account of the horrendous hotel prices demanded during design week the (smow)blog team camp in Milan. And that despite last years near-drowning episode. This year the decision was a real blessing. Spared the torment of those trapped by Eyjafjallajokull at Milan Airport our return journey this year took us via Weil am Rhein, Vitra and the VitraHaus. What a difference the weather makes! When we were there for the opening in February architect Jacques Herzog commented, somewhat solemnly,
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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,
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As many of you will be aware, the construction of the VitraHaus was not without it's controversy. For all the decision to paint the outer walls black. We at (smow)blog can however exclusively reveal that other options were considered. And below we publish exclusive pictures of the rejected colour schemes. Berlin based, Dutch designer Hella Jongerius has created the Vitra Colour Laboratory to help encourage VitraHaus visitors to be more imaginative and creative in their use of colour. One
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If a picture really does paint a thousand words; a dozen VitraHaus photos here saves us an awful lot of typing. Below a few of our favourite images. And if you have any of your own photos that you would like to share with us, please email them to blog@smow.de Full credit will naturally be given for any photos used.
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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.
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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
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Following our visit to the #VitraHaus this coming Friday, the (smow)wintertour 2010 then proceeds, by ski, along the alps to Aschau im Chiemgau, Bavaria and a visit to Nils Holger Moormann and the, so-called, Moormann Haus. Constructed in 1859 by the Bavarian star architect/stage designer team of Christian Jank and Eduard Riedel, who later went on to find wider acclaim with the construction of Schloss Neuschwanstein, the Moormann Haus was built to commemorate the presentation by Maximilian
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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
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