During Milan Design Week 2013 Knoll formally launched the “Tools for Life” collection from Dutch architecture practice OMA, a collection overseen by OMA co-founder Rem Koolhaas.

The collection had previously been previewed as part of the stage decoration for the Prada Fall Men’s show in January, and was formally unveiled in the same location…. the Prada Milan HQ

A location that theoretically the likes of us should never be allowed to enter. But Design Week is Design Week.

Milan Design Week 2013: Tools for Life by OMA for Knoll at Prada Milano

The first thing to say is that the collection looks like it has been designed by an architect.

Just not in the easily accessible way we all know from the likes of Jacobsen, Eiermann or Haller. And certainly not in the tradition of the architects with whom Knoll’s reputation was founded; Mies van der Rohe, Bertoia, Saarinen….

It’s all very much the result of a conceptual thinker, a pure author collection from a designer working on the basis of a theory rather than a specific functional or aesthetic brief. Haute couture to misuse the Prada vocabulary.

For Knoll the signature piece of the collection is the 04 Counter. Three beams stacked on another, the top two can be rotated through 360 degrees thus allowing for a range of variable, fluid uses: seating, presentation, discussion. Innovative and interesting as the functionality unquestionably is, we’re just unsure who actually needs or wants such. And certainly in an object that stands around one metre high and two metres long.

The 03 Coffee Table works on a very similar principle with similar mechanics; however, being smaller in scale the movement makes a lot more sense, is friendlier, more desirable and is something we can well imagine attracting a following. Albeit a very wealthy following.

For us the highlight of the collection is the 11 Floor Seating, a legless chair that at first glance looks as if it is just for relaxing; however, in context of modern working with tablet computers et al, sitting low down, knees raised, slightly hunched is likely to become a much more common option. And high-quality, well considered chairs that allow one to, effectively, sit on the floor are about as rare as Prada jackets in our wardrobe. For us “11″ just needs a slightly higher backrest to be truly functional.

The 11 Floor Seating from the Tools for Life collection by OMA for Knoll (The cushions will be upholstered)

Amongst the further objects the 01 arm chair has a not unappealing form language, albeit takes a little bit of getting use to. When we first saw them we didn’t like them at all, felt they evoked an unpleasant Star Trek meets 80s Miami Beach Nightclub imagery indicative of a designer trying too hard. However, having let them work on us for few days, we are starting to understand and appreciate them a lot more. It’s a bit like David Bowie. Didn’t get him for decades, then suddenly a few years ago we approached his music in a different way and since then find it much more appealing.

The 05 Round Table and 06 Table are technically very, very interesting; however, the less said about their appearance the better. And no, we don’t think we’ll ever get used to them.

Although we imagine they’ll be very well received in Moscow.

The real star of the launch however was Rem Koolhaas, who was followed round the Prada Cathedral by an adoring crowd, hungry for titbits of information, principally on his reasons for the choice of materials. A question he, patiently, answered at least a thousand times.

We of course weren’t part of the mob. At that point we were busy in hospitality eating croissants with a proficiency that would have put Polar Bear Knut to shame.

They were Prada croissants. When are we ever likely to get the chance to eat Prada croissants again?

Never is the answer. And yes they were lovely.

The 01 Arm Chair from the Tools for Life collection by OMA for Knoll. Here in its prototype upholstery.

Tools for Life is the first time Rem Koolhaas has taken on a furniture project. According to Knoll the first contact was made some 15 years ago, but Koolhaas didn’t have any real interest, or perhaps better put the necessary motivation, for furniture at that time. Then a couple of years ago they started discussing the possibility again and Koolhaas said yes, “….because Knoll asked us to do a collection rather than a single object, and that made it an interesting proposition”

And regardless of what you think of the individual pieces or the form language, as a collection Tools for Life works very well. It has a unity, a solidarity that binds the individual pieces together.

In our post from the Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln exhibition “From Aalto to Zumthor Furniture by Architects” we hypothesised that what makes much of the furniture designed by architects such as Eiermann, Jacobsen or Le Corbusier so appealing is that it was largely developed for specific projects, it originated in a specific context and so was influenced and formed by this context.

Furniture by Architects also showed what happens when architects develop furniture out of a fixed context, free as it were. Or at least showed what can happen.

Tools for Life by OMA for Knoll is a further good example. An interesting and not-unappealing collection it is, for us, driven too much by a desire to be an OMA furniture collection and as such lacks a certain nonchalance that is necessary to make furniture something that people want to possess and use.

As such we fear that Tools for Life is fated to become a historical footnote in the story of Knoll and OMA, good for a few glossy photos but otherwise culturally and economically irrelevant.

However there is enough genuine technical innovation and interesting new thinking in the collection to be fairly confident that if OMA and Rem Koolhaas are given a more specific brief, then something truly wonderful could result.

Or put another way, having seen the haute couture we can’t wait for the prêt-à-porter

Much as Gerrit Rietveld‘s career is publicly reduced down to the Rood-blauwe stoel, so too is it all to easy to imagine Marcel Breuer spent his days doing nothing more than creating chairs and tables from bent steel tubing.

Indeed start typing the name “Marcel Breuer” into google and the all-knowing, all-seeing algorithm will only offer you “Marcel Breuer Chair”, “Marcel Breuer Wassily Chair” and “Marcel Breuer Biography” as searches.

That the public impression of Marcel Breuer should be so monotone is all the more surprising given that the Breuer biography is without question one of the better known Bauhaus biographies. He is one of the few Bauhäusler about whom a TV quiz show would consider posing a question.

The exhibition “Marcel Breuer – Design and Architecture” currently on show at Bauhaus Dessau not only introduces the visitor to less well known, less well publicly explored, areas of his work, but presents one or the other rarely seen or barely known object from Marcel Breuer’s oeuvre. But for all makes very clear that important as his steel tube work was for 20th century European design, for Breuer himself it was an early and short lived phase of his creativity.

Doing what it says on the tin, “Marcel Breuer – Design and Architecture” is split into two sections. One looking at his design work, the other looking at his… you get the idea.

The B3 Club Chair (Wassily Chair) by Marcel Breuer @ Bauhaus Dessau

The design section of the exhibition is arranged chronologically and so starts with Breuer’s initial wood pieces, including the unmistakably de Stijl influenced – and appropriately coloured – Lattenstuhl, and an epic, almost steampunk, dressing table and chair combination he created in 1923 for the Haus am Horn in Weimar.

In the mid-1920s Marcel Breuer then started his ground-breaking experimentation with steel tubing, and naturally the genre is well represented in the exhibition, be it the “Wassily” B3 Club Chair in its various forms, Breuer’s numerous and varied collaborations with Thonet or his cantilever chair designs. What is particularly interesting to see is the construction variations Breuer experimented with in his furniture. For example his B 35 chair for Thonet is shown in a welded and a screwed version; the one obviously being suited to flat pack delivery and a modular furniture family. The other is more aesthetically pleasing.

However, whereas the steel tubing is without question his best known, and most important, epoch, for us the plywood section is by far the more interesting.

On the one hand because it was a material he was more or less forced to work with – the company Isokon having little interest in steel tube furniture and wanting instead the commercially more relevant wood – yet was a material with which he was able to produce some truly wonderful furniture; with the organic form language standing very much in contrast with what the majority of us associate with the name Marcel Breuer. Admittedly one has limited options with moulded plywood, but what Marcel Breuer achieved is truly a joy to behold.

But also because it shows that Breuer had an understanding of the commercial furniture industry that few of his contemporaries could match. His 1936 stacking chair being a particularly powerful example.

Examples of Marcel Breuer's moulded plywood work with Isokon. In the foreground the stacking chair

In contrast to the chronological design section, the architecture section is thematically divided into “Spaces”, “Houses” and what the curators refer to as “Volumes” – monolithic, almost brutalist, constructions that seem determined to justify and enforce their right to exist through their presence alone.

Each of the sections is explained through models, photos and sketches of representative buildings.

The most interesting display for us is that devoted to the BAMBOS project.

As a thousand Japanese tourist a day can tell you, one of the most important features of Bauhaus Dessau is the Meisterhäuser – a row of villas built specially for the Bauhaus Masters.

Albeit built much to the annoyance of the “Young Masters” such as Breuer, Josef Albers or Herbert Bayer, who found it “antisocial” that while the Masters were given shiny new villas, the Young Masters – who at the time were doing the lion’s share of the teaching – weren’t.

In an act that stands in magnificent juxtaposition to the happy party people Bauhaus currently on show at the Barbican Art Gallery, the Young Masters rebelled against the plan and proposed their own series of experimental, prefabricated houses known colloquially as BAMBOS after those Young Masters for whom they were intended: Breuer, Albers, Meyer, Bayer, Meyer-Ottens and Schmidt.

Initially the plan was rejected, but with Breuer threatening to leave Dessau, Walter Gropius eventually conceded to the project. However, as with so much associated with Bauhaus, fate meant the project was never realised and much of the original documentation has long since vanished.

Consequently the presentation of BAMBOS is limited to a short text and a model of the BAMBOS House Type 1.

That said, the inclusion of BAMBOS is important as it acknowledges that Bauhaus wasn’t a train speeding towards an agreed destination along a unified ideological track, but rather a collection of individuals with opinions that they were prepared to defend. Even if that meant derailing the train.

In a similar vein we feel the exhibition would and could benefit from a little more information on the disquiet caused when Marcel Breuer started selling his steel tube furniture through his own “Standard-Möbel” label, without first clarifying that with the rest of Bauhaus. Or indeed on many of the other moments when Breuer and Bauhaus clashed. Despite the success it unquestionably brought all parties, the relationship wasn’t all sunshine and cocktails.

Regardless of this, for us, omission “Marcel Breuer – Design and Architecture” presents a wonderful, very accessible, overview of the man, his legacy and his place in the story of 20th century design and architecture. One truly gets a feeling for the progression that occurred throughout his career.

But more importantly, and as with “Gerrit Rietveld – The Revolution of Space“, one understands that the public persona is only the introduction to a more complex and creative character. If you like, the invitation to explore further.

Marcel Breuer – Design and Architecture is the perfect chance to do just that and can be viewed at Bauhaus Dessau until October 31st 2012.

A model "BAMBOS House Type 1"

Bauhaus Dessau: Marcel Breuer – Design and Architecture

The Aula at Bauhaus Dessau, featuring seating designed by Marcel Breuer

As many of you know we don’t do trends. Never have. Never will.

But others do.

And back in 1964 the trend in West Germany was leather furniture. At least according to Der Spiegel.

In “Haut und Haare“, a delightful article, that admittedly probably shouldn’t be read by anyone planning buying a Barcelona Chair for Christmas, the unnamed Spiegel author not only explains just how much of a trend leather had become in the West German living rooms of the day, but exhibits a wonderfully casual acceptance of illegal copies.

And shows how times have changed.

For example it, somewhat sweetly, refers to “The company W. Fehlbaum, Weil am Rhein, ….” As far as we’re aware the company was officially called Vitra in 1964; but obviously the name wasn’t considered important or familiar enough to warrant being mentioned.

For as indicated in our piece on “Design in Use, USA“, the designer furniture industry is genuinely a lot younger than many of us realise.

Young. But maturing.

The Eames Lounge Chair from "The company W. Fehlbaum, Weil am Rhein": Apparently sold like warm cakes in 1964....

Back in the day when the world was still in black and white, Der Spiegel and other serious newspapers and magazines regularly featured researched background articles on the designer furniture industry. Indeed up until 2000 Der Spiegel – and we’re honestly not being sponsored by them, they’re just a very good example – had “Furniture” as a regular feature category in their Culture section.

Then they stopped. Until recently. When the subject came back as “Design”

We genuinely nearly chocked on our cornflakes when we saw they had published a background piece on Vienna Design Week 2011. A background piece! With an interview!

This switch from “Furniture” to “Design” is characteristic of a development that effectively began back in 2010 when The Guardian appointed the highly experienced and respected architecture and design journalist Justin McGuirk as “Design Correspondent” A decision that caused other publications to sit up, take notice and move occasional design pieces from the “arts” section into their own category.

And so slowly but surely a subject that for a decade has been the sole preserve of blogs is becoming mainstream.

We obviously welcome the introduction of all high profile publications into the design discourse – not least because we hope that it helps filter out those charlatans whose modus operandi is reprinting press releases and photos in the hope of getting good Google rankings and so generating advertising profit.

However it would be a shame if those journalists covering design for the mainstream press lost sight of the “furniture industry” aspect.

For we firmly believe the designer furniture industry, and those designers who hope to make a living from it, would be better served by a press that properly analyses, questions and criticises rather than by the current crop of servile B2B publications who equate content with advertising revenue.

In that sense we’re obviously looking forward to seeing how #milanuncut develops in 2012.

And if Der Spiegel join the debate.

Yes, that is a direct challenge to the colleagues in Hamburg

Haut und Haare is a “trend” piece, and it admittedly isn’t a trend piece that asks any especially hard questions. But in its style and attitude it is a trend piece that reminds us that designer furniture journalism can be more than fawning sycophancy. How many publications today would have the confidence to print a quote from a modern Egon Eiermann denouncing all furniture designers as plagiarists?

And for us the article ends with the heartwarming news that one person shares our distrust of trends and was bucking the leather fashion of the day – West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard who had ordered 16 Eames Lobby Chairs for Bonn. In fabric. Not leather.

Ludwig Erhard. Bucked 1960s furniture trends.(Photo: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F015320-0010 / Patzek, Renate / CC-BY-SA)

Luddites!

Not a phrase normally associated with (smow)

To the best of our knowledge no (smow)employee has ever smashed an iPad or capped a WiFi service in protest at the creeping and increasingly obsessive proliferation of technology into our lives.

Despite that, the early summer weeks in the (smow)HQ were dominated by the preparation and production of the very first (smow)catalogue.

That’s print catalogue.

So on paper.

With ink.

Luddites?

Au contraire nos amis!

Not only is the production of such an analogue catalogue technologically more challenging than coding with that “any-fool-can-do” HTML; but, just as the mechanisation of the textile mills offered the oppressed masses their first, golden, taste of leisure time – so does a print catalogue help us to regain that.

Turn off the computer, enjoy a break, peruse a catalogue. And then turn the computer back on and order.

In addition to featuring a selection of products from the (smow) range the (smow) Designer Furniture Catalogue 2011 also includes biographical information on some of the most important designers and a range of specially commissioned photos of products from USM Haller, Vitra, Moormann, Richard Lampert et al

And is a mighty fine piece of work. Well done to all involved!

If you’d be interested in seeing the finished work, or know someone who would appreciate a copy, please contact service@smow.de (NOTE: It is only available in German)

And at facebook.com/smowcom we have posted a photo gallery documenting the production process.

(smow) Designer Furniture Catalogue 2011

Eero Saarinen, 1910 - 1961

August 20th marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Finnish architect/designer Eero Saarinen.

Eero Saarinen had – in all probability – very little career choice other than that of architect: Not only was his father Eliel Saarinen one of Finland’s most celebrated architects, but two of his uncles followed the same profession. In addition his mother, Loja Gesellius Saarinen, was a sculptress and textile designer.

Eero Saarinen spent his first 13 years in his birthplace, Kirkkonummi on the outskirts of Helsinki. In 1923, following the positive feedback to Eliel Saarinen’s entry for the Chicago Tribune Tower competition, the family emigrated to the USA – initially to Evanston, Illinois before in 1925 Eliel Saarinen was commissioned by G.G. Booth to build the new Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The Cranbrook Academy Campus, designed by Eliel Saarinen

A commission that was later to have a large influence on Eero’s career.

In 1930 Eero travelled to Paris where he spent a year studying sculpture at L’Académie de la Grande Chaumière before enrolling at Yale School of Architecture from where he graduated in 1935. After a year travelling Europe and North Africa, Eero Saarinen returned to America where he began working in his fathers office at Cranbrook; and where he met Charles Eames for the first time. The young Eames both studying at the college and being employed in Eliel Saarinen’s office.

The meeting was to be the start of a lifelong professional and personal relationship; Saarinen even naming the first son from his second marriage “Eames”.

Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen at Cranbrook Academy (photo © Cranbrook Archives)

The professional careers of Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen were equally close and both effectively started with joint projects; the 1940 “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition and the 1945-49 “Case Study House #9″ for Arts & Architecture Magazine.

In response to an increasing boredom in the USA with the minimalist steel/leather/glass objects of the Bauhaus School, the Museum of Modern Art in New York organised in 1940 a competition entitled: “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” to find the best new American furniture design concepts. The competition rules called for designs that were functional, affordable and based on new, modern production processes.

Eames and Saarinen submitted an entry comprising eight designs based largely on their early experiments with moulded synthetic furniture and that included, amongst others, the Conversation Chair or as it is more popularly known today, the Organic Chair.

The jury, including such luminaries as Marcel Breuer and Alvar Aalto, awarded Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen first prize.

The Organic Chair by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen through Vitra

While the award brought the pair recognition, the mass production of the Eames-Saarinen designs was still impractical in the early 1940s. The technology simply not being rife enough to either produce the chairs nor the machines required to produce the chairs. The approach used, however, was to be important in both designers later furniture design work. Charles Eames employing it for his fibreglass/plastic chair series; while Saarinen used it in his works for Knoll International, most notably the Womb Chair and the Tulip Chair – arguably his two most important designs.

Eames and Saarinen’s architectural careers also involved an early joint project. In January 1945 the US Magazine Arts & Architecture publisher John Entenza wrote an editorial calling for greater use of mass production technology in house building. In the following years a series of leading architects were commissioned to design and build their vision of the industrial mass produced house of the future.

In 1949 “Case Study House #9″ by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen was completed. Showing the typical quadratic nature of most of Eames and Saarinen’s early work,”Case Study House #9″ is filled with fixtures, features and furniture that illustrate both mens belief in the unity between architecture and design and the importance of the relation between a building, its contents and its user.

Next door to “Case Study House #9″ is “Case Study House #8″ the so-called “Eames House”: officially accredited to Charles and Ray Eames, but where one also detects the influence of Eero Saarinen.

For both Saarinen and Eames, their participation in such a prestigious project was to bring the two, still relatively young, architects a greater public and greater authority.

In 1946 another of Eero Saarinen’s “Cranbrook Connections” lead to the start of his collaboration with Knoll International.

Tulip Chair by Eero Saarinen for Knoll International

At Cranbrook Saarinen had met Florence Schust. In 1944 Florence married the young German furniture producer Hans G. Knoll and became the Knoll International “in-house interior designer”; and it was Florence Knoll who approached Saarinen to ask him to develop his moulded chair concept for the company.

In total Saarinen developed over a dozen products for Knoll International, many of which have been in continuous production since their launch.

Despite the importance of his work, for Eero Saarinen furniture design was a side project to his architecture career; a career which saw him build, amongst other buildings, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St Louis, the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport New York and Dulles International Airport, Washington. That said it was never a lesser value work for Saarinen, who was fascinated by the concept that each part of a work could reflect and compliment the others, that outside and inside could be united as one entity.  In that sense Saarinen’s furniture designs can be seen as a direct extension of his architectural work. And his architectural work as an extension of his furniture design.

On September 1st 1961 Eero Saarinen died following an operation on a brain tumour.

Despite dying young, in his 25 year career Eero Saarinen created a canon of work – both architectural and furniture designs – that not only helped redefine architectural theory and shaped future thinking, but also laid the foundations for much of the modern designer furniture industry.

Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context – a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.

Eero Saarinen, 1910- 1961

Time was when social networking for businesses meant cocktail parties, tennis clubs and the Freemasons.

Time Was.

However Time Is and in the modern commercial world social networking means Facebook, Twitter, X-ing et al

Not only as a marketing tool but also as an increasingly important instrument for communicating with customers, gathering feedback and handling criticism.

Fritz Hansen have recognised the advantages of social networking

In addition a recent survey by Edison Research among twitter users in the USA indicated that for many consumers Twitter is an important source of information on products; not just in terms of getting basic information, but also exchanging views and opinions.

Research by smow.com has revealed that although the use and acceptance of Twitter amongst the leading designer furniture producers has grown in recent years; the utilisation of social networking in the designer furniture industry lags far behind that in other commercial sectors.

For (smow) report author Kelly Felten, a problem “Given the rapid rise in the number of “design blogs” in recent years it is increasingly important that producers are able to both follow and respond to discussions concerning their products. If that is happening on twitter, the producers need to be there!”

According to Felten more targeted twitter usage could also prove helpful in areas such building brand loyalty amongst consumers or organising more efficient publicity campaigns ahead of large trade fairs.

“Imagine if when designer X launched a new product for producer Y,  a Twitter chat with X was organised over Ys Twitter account” says Felten, “you’ve got an instant online buzz”

In addition better, consumer relevant content could help the designer furniture producers solve their principle problem: the relatively low numbers of followers.

Alone Herman Miller with some 62,000 followers can claim to match the leading commercial brands in terms of twitter numbers.

That designer furniture customers are interested in using Twitter, for example, can be seen in the case of Kartell. The Italian producer started tweeting in April 2010 shortly before the Milan furniture fair and now has over 600 followers.

@kartellpeople Started tweeting on April 8th 2010

According to Kelly Felten on its own Twitter won’t change the design furniture industry, but targeted and professional Twitter usage will play an increasingly important role for designer furniture producers.

“The old distribution structures are changing, and with them the communication paths between end customer and producer”, says Felten, “The designer furniture producers have recognised that, however, they’re still learning the ropes”

The (smow) Designer Furniture Twitter Top 11:

(As on 18.08.2010)

(for comparison http://twitter.com/smowblog has 220 followers and a Klout rating of 05)

Eames Lounge Chair by George Brückmann. A delightful combination of painting, photography and mind games.

A recurrent theme, not only here in the (smow)blog but also in general throughout the (smow) global network is the subject of illegal copies of design classics.

Or better put when is a design classic a design classic?

At the HGB Leipzig Rundgang in February we were confronted with an unexpected and somewhat unusual interpretation of the question in the form of “Eames Lounge Chair” by George Brückmann.

And were immediately hooked.

And not only we were impressed by Brückmanns work, In October 2009 his series “In-Situ” was selected to be part of the 2009/2010 “Gute Aussichten – junge deutsche fotografie” exhibition, one of the most important and prestigious Germanic contemporary photography exhibitions.

After 10 months and 6 stations in 3 countries the final “Gute Aussichten” exhibition of the 2009/2010 tour opens in the Art Foyer DZ Bank in Frankfurt am Main on Thursday July 29th.

Until the September 11th visitors will be able to view not only the work of George Brückmann but the work of the other seven young artists selected from the 91 entries submitted from 33 German colleges.

Ahead of the exhibition opening we caught up with George Brückmann in his atelier in Leipzig-Lindenau. And pretty much got off to the worst possible start.

Just as all forms of “design” rely on innovation and new ideas if they are to survive so to do the visual arts.

We thought George Brückmann painted onto photographs.

He doesn’t.

Still life with beer by George Brückmann. The objects are real, have been painted onto and then photographed

Initially he painted onto objects, coating the objects with paint of the same colour -  and then photographed them. And in doing so created wonderfully, obtuse, voluminous scenes somewhere between reality, painting and photography.

Then he moved onto painting objects which in the consciousness of the viewer were then extrapolated into other objects, before tackling the subject of design classics or better put the relationship between design classics and non-design classics.

We wont spoil the work by revealing the process, but enough to say George Brückmann paints designer furniture classics in such a way that through the composition of the final photograph “normal” objects appear transformed into the iconic pieces.

The paintings of the chairs themselves are not especially accurate, for all the the proportions and form  often vary from the originals. But that plays no role in your observation. You still recognise them, still find them attractive , still give them a value -  a value that then also seems to meliorate the raw and rudimentary settings.

Brückmann’s work is concerned with the “imaginary  extension” of one object into another and is achieved through a combination of perspective, context, art and the viewers innate cognition. Be it a cardboard box transformed into a deck chair or an everyday garden lounger seen as a Le Corbusiers LC 4 chaise longue.

Charles and Ray Eames’ lounge chair, The F 51 by Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohes’ Barcelona Chair being just three of the design classics he has re-interpretied.

Or better put extended from less valuable everyday items into the design classics we all know.

In the words of Brückmann “Here objects are what they could have been, could be, want to be or even should be”

The exhibition “Gute Aussichten – junge deutsche fotografie 2009/2010” can be viewed at the Art Foyer DZ Bank in Frankfurt am Main until September 11.

Le Corbusier LC 4 by George Brückmann part of "gute aussichten - junge deutsche fotografie 2009/2010"

The familiar nature of Group D was continued with this meeting of two grandees of the international designer furniture circuit: Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard.

With both still having an outside chance of qualifying for the semi-finals the start was edgy and imprecise.

Alexander Girard however was first to find his rhythm and came close with an intricate Names fabric. Eero Saarinen responded with a clever Grasshopper chair, a move which produced the most delightful Millerstripe Multicoloured bright and neutral combination response from Alexander Girard.

And the 1:0 lead.

And with his travelling army of Wooden Dolls cheering him on Girard held on for  deserved victory.

The Group D table and all Group D results can be found here.

After the strenuous match against Alexander Girard, France decided to rest Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for the match against Eero Saarinen.

Their replacement, the enfant terrible of contemporary French design Philippe Starck however failed to match the old Finnish master; too often Philippe Starck strove forward with fairly predictable and poorly considered approaches.

Eero Saarinen was able to make use of the gaps produced by Philippe Starck to good effect scoring with his Tulip Chair and a pedestal table for a thoroughly deserved 2:0 victory

The Group D table and all Group D results can be found here.

Philippe Starck failed to get the better of Saarinen's Tulip Chair through Knoll International

Organic Chair by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen through Vitra

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 the designers imagination and it was to be almost a decade before either Charles Eames or Eero Saarinen could transform the lessons learnt into commercial products: Charles Eames with his fibreglass/plastic armchairs for Herman Miller and Eero Saarinen with his Tulip Chair for Knoll.

Tulip chair by Eero Saarinen for Knoll

For the sake of completeness we should also mention George Nelson‘s Swag Leg Chair, a design which relies heavily  – albeit with permission – on both the technology and narrative of the Conversation Chair.

Currently marketed by Vitra as the “Organic Chair” Eames and Saarinen’s pioneer work remains a wonderfully confident yet unassuming chair that can be used in all domestic, commercial and retail settings.

And you can win one.

The designer furniture retailer network Creative Inneneinrichter – of which (smow) is a member – is offering an Organic Chair as first prize in their “My way to the VitraHaus” competition.

Second prize is a Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and third prize a Panton Chair.

The rules are very simple: Document your journey to the VitraHaus; the most imaginative, creative and original entry wins.

And so whether your planning skydiving onto the VitraHaus, negotiating the Alps Hannibal-esque with elephants or rafting down the Rhein simply register at the Creative Inneneinrichter website and upload your photos/videos/certificates.

Full details can be found at “Mein weg ins VitraHaus”

Although Jasper Morrison built a bus stop next to the VitraHaus - travelling by bus probably won't win you the Organic Chair.