In our Orgatec interview with Vitra CDO Eckart Maise we talked about the office system as the central component of the Vitra office furniture philosophy. One designer who has done more than most to establish Vitra’s reputation in the office furniture sector is without question Antonio Citterio. Since his first collaborations with the company in the late 1980s Antonio Citterio has worked with Vitra on numerous key projects including the Ad Hoc system, the AC and ID office chair systems and most recently the Grand Repos lounge chair. At Orgatec 2012 Antonio Citterio and Vitra presented the latest fruits of their cooperation and we took the opportunity to speak to Antonio Citterio about working with Vitra and his admiration for Charles and Ray Eames, but started by asking about his approach to his work.

Antonio Citterio: I like to work on products that are developed over time. I don’t like to work just for the moment. I like to work over long time frames and on long term concepts. My approach is to develop existing systems and to make changes every few years. For example in 2010 we presented the ID Concept Chair and this year we are presenting a new backrest for the system, and we also have some changes to Ad Hoc and a new Visavis. They are still the same products, I don’t want to develop something so that the previous version becomes old or outdated. It should just be another option.

(smow)blog: Old and outdated are interesting keywords. Ad Hoc is now over 20 years old, is it still relevant in modern office environments, or has the office environment evolved quicker than Ad Hoc?

Antonio Citterio: Clearly over time the requirements of a system or a product change. The office environment is changing but a system such as Ad Hoc changes with it. For example the first Ad Hoc was very deep because it needed to take large computers and monitors, but now we don’t need such a deep system for laptops, tablets etc. The system remains the same. It just evolves, and so remains practical and relevant.

(smow)blog: This evolution, or extension, of your systems, is that always purely technical or do aesthetics also play a role?

Antonio Citterio: You become boring if it is just a technical development. The technical element is an important part of the job, but the aesthetic remains a big part. It’s not enough just to develop technically, it’s not enough, for example, just to develop a new back for the ID Concept Chair. Everything must be considered, must fit together and not every project reaches a conclusion, sometimes you have to stop, if you don’t reach a certain “something”

(smow)blog: Can one therefore say that office furniture is more interesting for you than domestic, where one has quicker turn around periods and shorter product life cycles?

Antonio Citterio: No I like to do both. Office furniture I like because of the more sophisticated technology, but then with Vitra I could combine this sophisticated technology in Grand Repos, because Vitra is a company who understand office systems.

(smow)blog: You trained as an architect and still work as an architect, do you also employ this thinking in terms of a long term evolution of systems in your architectural work?

Antonio Citterio: Yes, yes it’s a very similar process. For example I have built three factories for Vitra: the first one fifteen years ago, the second one five years ago and the third one this year. All three factories are the same, just developments of the same system. They are all prefabricated, but you improve them each time and I like that. The second factory for example was built close to the first one. Now if you’re a young architect you would want to create a statement. But Vitra don’t need a statement, Vitra need a productive space, a Vitra factory space. In Weil am Rhein with the Vitra Campus things are different, you have a huge space and a collection of architects and there you can have a more author, expressive, work. But in order to create a creative Vitra space you must remain consistent, and so for the second factory we evolved the first factory concept. Then having developed the system in versions one and two, by the time we built the third I had a good competitive system, that can be built quickly and looks good. So yes it’s a very similar process.

(smow)blog: Changing the topic slightly, you’re often quoted as being a huge admirer of Charles and Ray Eames, what is the fascination for you?

Antonio Citterio: If you look at the Eames’ works, their product is never finished, they were always improving and working on the designs. And this is something I can associate with, every product can be better and you should never stop trying to develop and improve a product. And Charles Eames was an incredible designer and visionary and without question one of the best from the 20th century.

(smow)blog: Which in connection with your own preference for continually developing projects over a long time frame, is that then perhaps a reason why you are so happy with Vitra, because you have the freedom to do just that, to continually improve a product?

Antonio Citterio: Certainly, yes.  I’ve been very lucky with Vitra.

(smow)blog: Final question, we’re at an office furniture fair. What does your office look like?

Antonio Citterio: I have Ad Hoc, and I will soon have the new ID Chair. At the moment we have the Axess chair plus Visavis…..

(smow)blog: ….so it’s a Citterio office….

Antonio Citterio: Sure. A Citterio office in a Citterio building.

Antonio Cittero (Photo: Bettina Matthiesen © Vitra)

Grand Repos by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

The chair Pivot by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

The office system Ad Hoc and the ID Chair by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

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 VitraHaus. Vi havde over 350.000 besøgende sidste år, hvilket bestemt overgik vores forventninger. Vi havde forventet et stigende besøgstal, men ikke i så høj grad.

(smow)blog: Er opmærksomheden omkring brandet Vitra ligeledes steget?

Eckart Maise: Ja, helt sikkert. Man kan eksempelvis måle det i form af antallet af artikler om VitraHaus i pressen. Jeg har været hos Vitra i 16 år, VitraHaus er den første nye bygning på Vitra Campus i lang tid, og man kan tydeligt se at pressedækningen er af helt andre dimensioner end når der f.eks. lanceres et nyt produkt.

(smow)blog: I hvor høj grad er Vitra-møbeldesignerne involveret i indretningen af selve VitraHaus?

Eckart Maise: Først og fremmest er det indvendige design organiseret af vores in-house team som består af flere designere og stylister. Indimellem er møbeldesignerne involveret hvis der er fokus på et bestemt produkt. Lige for tiden er Suita-sofaen udstillet, og i den forbindelse talte vi på forhånd med Antonio Citterio, lyttede til hans feedback og optimerede derefter et par forskellige områder. Mange af møbeldesignerne er i regelmæssigt kontakt med vores in-house indretningsarkitekter, og der foregår altid en udveksling af idéer.

VitraHaus Weil am Rhein

(smow)blog: Man lægger straks mærke til at der i VitraHaus også findes produkter fra, lad os sige, ikke-Vitra designere. Et eksempel på dette, som altid fanger vores opmærksomhed er Spin fra Tom Dixon …

Eckart Maise: .. Ja, det er et bevidst træk fra vores side. For os er ‘collagen’ den indretningsstrategi, som bedst passer til vores måde at tænke på. Det vil sige, at variationen af interiøret bliver en kvalitet i sig selv – også variationen i de enkelte ‘værkers’ oprindelse, og at rent Vitra interiør ikke nødvendigvis er det bedste. Derfor har vi her i VitraHaus netop tilbehør, belysning og tekstiler fra andre producenter, som komplimenterer Vitraprodukterne.

(smow)blog: Og så kan vi også forvente at forskellige designere i fremtiden vil få lov til at skabe egne rum i enkelte dele af VitraHaus?

Eckart Maise: Ja, vi er netop ved at planlægge dette, og det var faktisk planlagt helt fra starten, men ikke realiseret før nu. Vi ønsker ikke at være et museum, hvor der eksempelvis vises en udstilling af Bouroullec eller en udstilling af Citterio, men naturligvis er der mulighed for at bede de designere som aktivt er involveret i husets interiør, eksempelvis de to Bouroullec-brødre, om at skabe et rum på den betingelse, at det ikke skal være en monografi over deres værker, men i stedet en collage som også indeholder produkter fra andre Vitradesignere.

smow(blog): Så, eksempelvis, ‘her er et bud på hvordan man kunne indrette en hems på 20 kvadratmeter’?

Eckart Maise: … præcis. Der er flere forskellige muligheder, og vi håber at kunne begynde i de kommende måneder.

smow(blog): En yderlige udvidelse af Vitra Campus er Vitra Atelier. I øjeblikket kan man se, hvordan en Eames Lounge Chair er konstrueret, har du tænkt dig at udvide konceptet?

Eckart Maise: I princippet er det et fleksibelt koncept, men i øjeblikket vil det være begrænset til Eames’ Lounge Chair. Det vigtige for os, er at kunderne kan se det håndværk der er involveret i produktionen, og at det er lavet her i Weil am Rhein, og ikke i Kina eller andre steder for den sags skyld. Kunderne har også mulighed for at se, hvordan deres egen Lounge Chair er opbygget. De kan for eksempel komme til VitraHaus om morgenen, se hvordan den konstrueres, og tage den med hjem om eftermiddagen. Denne stol er formentlig et af de møbler som ejerne har den mest følelsesmæssige forbindelse til, og som spiller en central rolle i disses hjem, og netop derfor er det for os den perfekte genstand for Vitra Atelier.

Vitra Atelier - Vitra Campus Weil am Rhein

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 visitor numbers, for example, have tripled in comparison to before the opening of the VitraHaus. We had over 350,000 visitors last year which vastly exceeded our expectations. We had expected an increase but not such an increase.

(smow)blog: And has awareness of the Vitra brand also increased?

Eckart Maise: Yes, definitely. One can measure it, for example, in terms of the number of press articles about the VitraHaus. I’ve been with Vitra for 16 years and the VitraHaus is the first new building on the Vitra Campus in that time, and one sees that the press coverage is of a completely different dimension than that when launching a new product.

(smow)blog: Turning to the VitraHaus itself, in how far are the Vitra furniture designers involved in the interior design decisions?

Eckart Maise: Principally the interior design is organised by our in-house team of designers and stylists. Occasionally the furniture designers are involved where there is a product focus. For example at the moment the Suita sofa display. We discussed that with Antonio Citterio in advance, gathered his feedback and then optimised a few points. But also many of the designers are in regular contact with our in-house interior designers and so there is always an exchange of ideas.

(smow)blog: One notices in the VitraHaus that there are various products from, let’s say, non-Vitra designers. The example that always catches our attention is Spin from Tom Dixon…

Eckart Maise: …yes that’s a deliberate feature from us. For us the Collage is the domestic furnishing strategy that best correlates to our way of thinking. That is to say the quality of an interior comes from variety, also variety in the origins of the individual pieces, and that a pure “Vitra interior” isn’t necessarily the best. And so here in the VitraHaus we have lighting, accessories, textiles etc from other producers that compliment the Vitra products.

(smow)blog: And so can also we expect that in the future part of the VitraHaus will be given over to individual designers to create a space?

Eckart Maise: Yes, Yes, we are planning such and that was indeed planned from the very beginning, but until now not realised. What we don’t want to be is a museum where we say here is a Bouroullec exhibition, or here is a Citterio exhibition. But naturally one can ask those designers who are actively involved with interiors, for example the Bouroullecs, to create a space with the condition that it shouldn’t be a monograph of their work but rather a collage with products from other Vitra designers.

(smow)blog: So, for example, here is an example of how you could organise a 20 sqm loft space…

Eckart Maise:.. exactly. There are various options and we hope to start in the coming months.

(smow)blog: A further extension of the Vitra Campus is the Vitra Atelier. At the moment one can watch how an Eames Lounge Chair is constructed, do you plan to extend the concept?

Eckart Maise: In principle it is a flexible concept, but at the moment it will remain limited to the Lounge Chair. What’s important for us is that customers can see the handcraft involved in the product and that they are made here in Weil am Rhein and not in China or wherever. Also customers have the option to watch how their own Lounge Chair is constructed. They can for example come to the VitraHaus in the morning, place and order, watch how it is constructed and then take it home in the afternoon. The Eames Lounge Chair is probably one of those furniture objects to which owners have the most emotional connection, and which plays a central role in the owners home, and so for us it is the perfect object for the Vitra Atelier.

Since over one year part of the Weil am Rhein landscape - VitraHaus

Vitra Atelier - Eames Lounge Chair construction LIVE!

At the 2011 Milan Furniture Fair Vitra are presenting a range of new products from designers including Konstantin Grcic, Antonio Citterio and Barber & Osgerby. Ahead of the official launch we caught up with Vitra Chief Design Officer Eckart Maise to discuss the new products and the Vitra Home Collection in general.

Jill by Alfredo Häberli for Vitra

(smow): Herr Maise, before we discuss the new products, and maybe as a little helpful background. How does a company like Vitra develop a collection? Do you go to a designer and say “There’s a gap in our collection, can you fill it?” Or how do new projects develop at Vitra?
Eckart Maise: In essence it all comes together as a consequence of our long-term relationship with the designers. With, for example, Antonio Citterio we’ve been working together for 25 years. Or with the Bouroullecs we’ve now been co-operating for 12 or 13 years. And although there are obviously phases where more happens and phases where less happens we are always in contact with one another. And so most projects arise from a concrete briefing from us that such or such a project would be good, for example a large sofa family or a lounge chair, and then we consider who would be the correct designer. And often we speak to several designers about the same project, and then see who reacts in which way and where what develops. The designers obviously all have their own agenda, have their own mission as it were, and so we need to find projects where there is an overlapping of interests, because that is the best conditions for a successful cooperation. It hardly ever occurs that a designer comes to us and says “So here’s a finished project, do you want it?” It’s always a co-operation and a joint development.

(smow): And in this context, this year you are presenting several products in Milan by, let’s say, “new” Vitra Designers. Are they also the result of long term contacts?
Eckart Maise: Exactly. With Barber & Osgerby, for example, we’ve been in contact for around 6 years and have discussed various projects that then never got further than the very early stages. Which isn’t to say that they are better designers now than for 6 years, rather it simply didn’t come to this overlapping of the interests. With the Tip Ton chair that was different. Similarly with Alfredo Häberli we’ve been in contact for a long time, we already worked on one project together that was quite well developed but never completely clicked and so it was stopped. Which incidentally is something that both Vitra and our designers are always prepared to do: namely even in the later phases of the development to say, no this isn’t right or we’ve not achieved our goal or whatever the reason – let’s stop. The public obviously don’t see that. But it happens. And finally with Konstantin Grcic we first worked together four years ago in the context of a Vitra Editions project, and since then we’ve remained in contact and there are further co-operations with Konstantin in preparation that will come in the future.

Tip Ton by Barber Osergby for Vitra

(smow): Which brings us nicely to the next question. From what we know of Vitra we can’t imagine that you’d enter into new projects without planning a longer co-operation?
Eckart Maise: Yes, and in all cases there other projects in development. But it can also develop other than one expects and sometimes it remains with just the one project. But we always enter into a designer cooperation with the aim of it being a long term cooperation.

(smow): Which is perhaps a good moment to discuss Hella Jongerius and the Bouroullecs. Our impression is that up till now they have played the central role in the development of the Vitra Home Collection. Is that so, and if so why?
Eckart Maise: Every designer naturally stands for one position and has their own voice. The Boroullecs are good for the Vitra Home Collection because they think in terms of systems, in terms of collections, plus they have highly poetic expression and they are very good at combining technical solutions with a poetic expression which is very important in the home. In the home you don’t want a product that is purely functional because the decision for a product is never a rational decision alone, rather emotion also plays an important role.
And with Hella Jongerius, for us Hella embodies the decorative, and also the importance of haptic, of the material, the colours. Also she also represents a return to handwork, which obviously plays an important role in the home.
But of course it’s not just the Bouroullcs and Jongerius, also Jasper Morrison plays an important role or Antonio Citterio and then of course we also have the design classics. And so one has altogether this collage.

Grand Repos and Panchina by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

(smow): You spoke earlier about soft seating and in that area Vitra is currently well represented, can you say where the Vitra Home Collection will develop in the future?
Eckart Maise: We will continue in the same areas as now but also in smaller objects, accessories such L’oiseau by the Bouroullecs or in dining but it’s not our intention, for example, to move into, as we say in German “Kastenmöbel, so shelving and sideboards. In that area there are other producers who are better equipped.  We have our experience and our competence in seating and in Milan we have, for example, a reclining lounger by Antonio Citterio where he has used his experience in office chairs to develop a lounge chair with a synchronizing technology in which the back tilts and at the same time the seat moves so that you maintain the same comfort regardless of seating position. And that in a very restrained style where the mechanism is not visible, it’s all incorporated in the legs and under the seat.  And in such areas is where we have our strength.

(smow): And a final question. Is the Vitra Milan Collection 2011 a good vintage? As Vitra Chief Design Officer are you confident it will positively received?
Eckart Maise: For us it’s a good year, not least because it is always exciting when you present new co-operations, that is always a large step to take as a producer. But the co-operations are also important as they enrich us, as if the family has enlarged, or the choir has grown and we can now sing new songs. And we’re confident because we have a wide variety of products from a broad range of designers; in comparison to last year where we had a very strong focus on the Suita from Antonio Citterio. This year we’ve got Vitra’s first plywood seat shell from Alfredo Häberli; we’ve further developed the HAL range with Jasper Morrison; we have the new lounger by Antionio Citterio – from our perspectiveve finally a real alternative to the Eames Lounge Chair! And that with a comparable comfort quality. Then with the Tip Ton chair from Barber & Osgerby a chair that is a real innovation in terms of the sitting experience. And in Waver from Konstantin Grcic we have a chair that is something truly new and fresh for Vitra and is an uncomplicated, young form of seating. And so we are looking forward to the reaction.

Jill by Alfredo Häberli for Vitra

Tip Ton by Barber Osergby for Vitra

Grand Repos and Panchina by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

Waver by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra

Vitra @ Orgatec 2010

Although the public face of Vitra is unquestionably their “Home Collection”, for decades the backbone of the company has been their office furniture division.

Consequently a central feature of Vitra’s daily work involves developing new approaches to office design and attempting to predict what will be important for office workers in the coming years.

In 1991 Vitra commissioned the designers Michele de Lucchi, Ettore Sottsass and Andrea Branzi to develop some plans for future office design. A central component was the creation of an office environment that was both social and productive.

Since then Vitra have developed numerous variations on the theme. At Orgatec 2008, for example, Vitra presented their Net’n'Nest office design concept – a concept that essentially split an open plan office into spaces for communicative, group work (Net’) and spaces for concentrated, individual work (‘Nest) and provided furniture for both situations.

At Orgatec 2010 Vitra’s catchword was “Citizen Office 2011″ .

Taking stock as it were 20 years after Branzi, de Lucchi and Sottsass presented the results of their research, Vitra’s “Citizen Office 2011″ aims to present an up-to-date version of that work in the context of modern work practices, and in many ways can also be seen as further development of Net’n'Nest.

Sadly, Vitra felt obliged to riddle the whole exercise with the sort of unnecessary marketing vocabulary that makes our blood boil.

That marketing professionals have their own linguistic register is not only known but has been the subject of office satire for decades – we played our first game of “Marketing Jargon Bingo” in 1993 – and we’re certain that the average Vitra commercial customer is not only aware of this but is intelligent enough to get the idea on their own.

No one has ever sold anything by giving a collection of desks a marketing name and then comparing them to a suburban district.

And they never will.

Ever.

And to attempt such is a waste of time and money.

Always.

Alcove Work by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec @ Orgatec 2010

Fortuitously one or the other product presented by Vitra at Orgatec 2010 was of such a quality that it could calm our pulsating veins.

It sounds obvious but we were genuinely impressed with the Alcove Work by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The Alcove is one of our favourite sofa designs, but was for us never an option for the office; however, by simply adding some storage space and a small surface on which one can write, the Bouroullecs have transformed it into something that can genuinely be recommended for workspaces.

The Bouroullec’s Communal Cells, in contrast,  initially made us recoil in horror – because we couldn’t understand why either Vitra or the Bouroullecs would want to produce a modern version 1970s airport telephone cells.

Then we realised that Communal Cells is in effect a modular concept with which users can create their own interior architecture.

And as with all sensible systems – rebuild and reconstruct as and when required.

And so with Communal Cells you have the possibility to create space for printers/copiers, for holding impromptu meetings, for installing a “snooze corner”… or whatever your office needs.

And once we understood that, we were genuinely impressed with the concept.

ID Chair Concept by Antonio Citterio for Vitra - unvieled at Orgatec 2010

The other dominant designer within Vitra’s Orgatec 2010 show was Antonio Citterio. In addition to the Suita Club Sofa / Armchair and  Unix Chair Citterio’s most important contribution was without question the new ID Chair Concept.

Centred around a new patented motion system the ID Chair Concept looks like it will be a central feature of Vitra’s office design concepts for the next few years.

But more on the ID Chair Concept in a separate post.

In addition Vitra presented new products from Naoto Fukasawa, Arik Levy and the aforementioned HAL by Jasper Morrison.

Despite the marketing folks best attempts to muddy the waters, Vitra still base a lot of their office design concepts on a  loose interpretaton of Charles Eames “Collage” approach to domestic furnishing – which is no bad thing and certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

Variety is not only the spice of life but a necessity in an effective work place.

And so whereas “Citizens Office 2011″ wont change the way companies and individuals think about their office environments – we’re certain that many of the individual products launched at Orgatec 2010 will.

And that many of the resulting office designs will ultimately resemble what Vitra discuss in their “Citizen Office 2011″ manifesto.

Just without superfluous Office Forums and Workstation Areas.

Orgatec 2010: Vitra - Comunal Cells as wardrobe, Alcove Work , ID Chair Concept

Knowing that they needed to defeat Fritz Haller’s stable and flexible USM Haller system in order to advance the Italians choose to stick with Antonio Citterio for this all or nothing encounter.

Setting quickly to work Antonio Citterio rolled out a succession of office chairs; including the Oson CE, Axess and T-chair for Vitra. However regardless of what Antonio Citterio tried, Fritz Haller always found a combination to match and ultimately took a 1:0 lead with a beautifully finished Haller Table.

Undeterred Citterio kept producing the office chairs and was eventually rewarded when his Vitra Skape sneaked in to make the final score 1:1

It was, however, very much a case of “too little too late” and so Switzerland and Fritz Haller advanced to the semi-finals.

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

Following his ankle injury Cesare “Joe” Colombo was replaced for this match by Antonio Citterio, one of the most experienced designers in the Italian squad.

Opening with a quick Mobil for Kartell Antonio Citterio quickly reinforced this with a Follow Me for Vitra. Despite the intensity of the opening Citterio couldn’t break Maarten Van Severn‘s legendary calm and the doyen of Belgian furniture design responded with an elegant LCP for Kartell and MVS Chaise for Vitra combination and so cancelled out Antonio Citterio’s excellent work.

All further attempts by both sides made little headway, and the match ended 0:0

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

One of the real joys of spring is that two of our favourite worlds nearly, but very nearly, collide – books (Leipzig Buchmesse) and designer furniture (Saloni Milano)

On April 10th in Milan they will collide with the opening of the exhibition to the new Moleskine edition “Hand of the Designer”.

Containing 462 hand drawn sketches from 150 designers – including Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Hella Jongerius, Antonio Citterio or Alberto Meda – Hand of the Designer is intended as an intimate look into the creative process of the designer, and as a celebration of the everlasting power of free hand sketching, even in the AutoCAD®  era.

And if you feel suitably inspired there are also 120 blank pages for you to add your own sketches.

In conjunction with the launch of “Hand of the Designer” at the 2010 Saloni Milano, an exhibition will be held at Villa Necchi Campiglio and Triennale Bovisa in Milan, opening on April 10. The exhibition will show all 462 original sketches which will then be auctioned by Sotheby’s Milan on May 13th 2010. The proceeds from the sale will be donated to “Fondo Ambiente Italiano” (The Italian National Trust)

Hand of the Designer by Moleskine costs Euro 59 (USD 70) and will go on sale in June 2010.

Further information can be found at moleskine.com

Moleskine Hand of the Designer

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Hella Jongerius

Schöner Wohnen present their Neue Klassiker at IMM Cologne - for some it's all just a blur....

To celebrate their 50th birthday the German furnishings magazine “Schöner Wohnen” have produced a small book entitled “Das Buch der Klassiker“ (“The book of classics”) in which the magazine present their 400 furniture and accessory classics.

And an exhibition of the selected items forms the basis of the Schöner Wohnen stand here in Cologne.

Aside from familiar faces such as Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec from Vitra or the Castore lamp by Huub Ubbens und Michele De Lucchi for Artemide, the exhibition also presents some items which genuinely don’t get the attention they deserve.

Split by Meike Russler together with the Thonet A 660

Split by Meike Rüssler for Ligne Roset, for example, is just a wonderful piece of desk design.

If you like a nice organised organised desk.

So not for us.

But for everyone else, perfect.

Not only the in-built letter trays, nor the concealed storage, not even the wonderful 360 degree lamp make Split so good. Also the fact that the “back” can also be a “top” i.e. it can either be positioned vertically as a back or horizontally to give a two-tier desk. Then there is the wonderful retro-veneer that always makes our hearts skip a little faster.

Here in Cologne the Schöner Wohnen team have wonderfully married Split with James Irvine’s A 660 office chair for Thonet. Featuring the classic Thonet Bentwood technology, Irvine’s chair offers a delightful, modern interpretation of the traditional Thonet style. And a very comfortable seat.

The A 660 isn’t a chair you’ d want to spend 8 hours sitting at a desk in; but for regular shorter periods or, for example, as a visitor chair in an office it is perfect.

Vegetal from Vitra by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Having far to much time on our hands we’ve counted and as far we can see among the top producers in the list are Cassina and Vitra and among the best represented designers Antonio Citterio and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.
And so (smow) must be doing something right…..

“Das Buch der Klassiker“ is available with the February issue of Schöner Wohnen – and all featured articles are, obviously,  available via smow.com

Now that it is finally online we did want to write at great lengths about the AC4 by Antonio Citterio for Vitra.

But you know what. We’re not going to.

On the one hand; we already have:

Red Dot Winner 2009

54% Recyclede, 91% Recyclable

Heirloom Design

Net’n'Nest

And on the other Vitra have produced such a delightful promo video:

We’re impressed – especially by the three zone lumbar support and the constant eyeline tipping system – and we genuinely don’t say that about all office chairs we try.

The AC 4 by Antonio Citterio is available in a wide range of materials, colours, arm rest styles and base styles. All of which, as with the complete Vitra office stool range are available from smow.

AC 4 by Antonio Citterio for Vitra - now available from smow