Vitra: furniture and intelligence

Competitors can compete with the Vitra furniture factory in sales or market coverage. But the Swiss company has an unshakable trump card - the intelligence of doing business and inventive educational activities. The company has a unique museum and collection of icons of design of the XX century. The first names of world architecture cooperate with it.

In 1934, Willy and Erika Velbaum founded an enterprise that initially specialized in hardware for stores. In 1957, they began to produce furniture for offices and republish items by American designers Ch. And R. Eames, J. Nelson and A. Girard, having received a license from the copyright holder, the company Herman Miller. In 1977, the leadership of Vitra was taken over by the son of the founders, Rolf Fehlbaum. At the same time, he began collecting the first implementations of Imzov, Nelson, as well as other modernists like Jean Prouvé and Alvar Aalto. In 1987, he met Alexander von Fegezak, an enthusiastic design collector who already had a valuable collection of twentieth-century furniture by that time. Rolf bought a lot of items from him, mostly made before 1945, and invited architect Frank Gehry to design a design museum. Thus was born the famous Vitra Design Museum. But cooperation with prominent architects at the furniture company began earlier. In 1981, Vitra factory buildings destroyed a major fire. Everything had to be rebuilt from scratch, and Rolf was visited by the idea of ​​collecting a collection of modern architecture. Year after year, the Vitra Campus was designed by real stars - Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, ​​Alvaro Siza, Zaha Hadid. With great chic, the VitraHaus was opened - a unique home for the demonstration of the Vitra Home Collection, sponsored by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.

Vitra Design Museum, arch. F. Gehry. 1989. Suita Sofa, Diz. A. Chitterio. 2010. Скатерть из колл. аксессуаров для дома, диз. А. Жирар. Ремейк модели 1961 г., созданной для магазина Textiles & Objects в Нью-Йорке. Metal Side Table, diz. R. and E. Burulleka. As part of the collection White Collection reissued in white. Suitable for outdoor use. Watch Sunflower, diz. J. Nelson. 1958. Wiggle Stool, Diesel. F. Geri. 1972. Table Trapèze, Diesel. Ж. Pruve. 1950-1954.

Of course, the most powerful offer of Vitra is considered to be collections for offices and public spaces. Vitra Home Collection appeared later in 2004. It includes furniture from Antonio Citterio, Martin van Severen, Burullek brothers, Jasper Morrison, Konstantin Grchik, Hella Jongerius. In the collection of Vitra for kids things a bit, but there are masterpieces. For example, the charming, naughty animal watch Zoo Timers by George Nelson.

One of the first Vitra drew attention to the correctness of production from an environmental point of view. “Design is not an abstraction,” says Rolf Felbuam. - A manifesto of your relationship and your philosophy. It’s not boring to look at a well-designed thing again and again, even if it was invented 50 years ago. Charles Imz always asked himself if the idol Buckminster Fuller would have liked this item. I like the principle of looking at my work through the eyes of a person whom you admire. ”

Panton Chair Classic, Diz. В. Pantone. 1959-1960. Plastik. Chair Hal, diz. J. Morrison. 2010 Divan Suita, Diz. A. Chitterio. 2010. Stul La Chaise, Diz. Ч. and R. Imz. 1958. Office chair, Call, Aluminum Group EA 117/119, diz. R. and C. Imz. 1958.

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