Vitra Miniature Natural wood Wood. Dimensions: L 11.5 x D 10.5 cm x H
12.5 cm. Located in Weil am Rhein in Germany (near the Swiss border), the Vitra
Design Museum is a privately funded museum that showcases the unique design
collection of the Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra. The Vitra Design Museum
collection is one of the most important furniture design collections in the
world. It contains around 7,000 pieces of furniture, more than a thousand
lighting pieces, numerous archives and the inherited series of famous designers
such as Charles & Ray Eames, Verner Panton and Alexander Girard. The Vitra
Design Museum's collection of miniatures, which started more than 20 years
ago, is an illustration of the milestones in the history of design. This
collection encompasses the entire history of industrial furniture from the 1800s
to present day, creating a pathway through time leading to the creation of
modern seating, from historicism and Art Nouveau to Bauhaus and New Objectivity,
Radical Design and Postmodernism to present day. A magnificent collection of
emblematic works is presented to you. These chairs that have taken their place
in history all carry the memories of their times: Materials, shapes, colours…
They reveal the often forgotten dreams of their time, the (sometimes utopian)
aspirations of their designers, but above all to their vision of the world. The
chairs are reproduced on a one-sixth scale and faithfully replicate the original
historical model down to the smallest details in the design, material and colour
shade. This precise detail is also applied to the wooden grain, the reproduction
of the screws and the meticulous methods of handcrafting. These miniatures are
not only valuable collector's items, but are also an educational tool for
universities, design schools and architects. Rolf Fehlbaum, President of Vitra:
“We can deduce and understand an era, its social order, its materials, its
techniques and its taste by observing its chairs. I should point out that no
other everyday object offers such diversity.” The Favela chair is the emblem
of a particular approach in the world of design. Its creators, the Campana
brothers, make their creations using recycled objects. This creation is made of
assembled logs, it is the incursion of popular handicrafts in the world of the
decorative art. The Favela chair, made of a large amount of salvaged wooden
logs, glued and nailed together, is emblematic of this rebirth. The Campanas
have the ability to reveal the beauty and poetry of any object by diverting it
from its initial function. Small wooden scraps suddenly rise to being a chic and
indispensable material. When they started their careers, Fernando and Humberto
Campana had to make do with very little. They would use materials they found
outdoors for their creations. Their mark of genius is being able to see
potential in any object. Their truly artisanal approach first and foremost came
from a lack of means, and had the quality of becoming environmentally friendly
and inspiring.
