Vitra Miniature Natural wood Paper. Dimensions: L 6.5 x D 9.5 cm x H
14.5 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.” Frank Gehry (1929) is best known
for his architectural achievements, such as the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Walt
Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and more recently the Louis Vuitton
Foundation in Boulogne. His style is easily recognisable, made of spectacular
curves and lines, and elements that defy the laws of construction. He first
works with papers that he crumples and twists to find a shape that he likes,
before modelling it on a computer. This architect was also a designer,
particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. Gehry had been experimenting with new
production techniques since the 1960s, and was interested in inexpensive and
affordable materials. This research led to the Easy Edges series, of which the
Wiggle Side Chair is the best known piece. Designed in 1972, it is a tribute to
the Zig-Zag chair by Rietveld (1934). Frank Gehry is known for his use of
unusual materials. With his Easy Edges furniture series, he managed to give a
new aesthetic dimension to a material as commonplace as cardboard. Gehry uses
thick sheets of laminated cardboard, placed at right angles and glued together.
This technique is similar to chipboard, which gives the chair a solid
appearance. This impression contrasts with the malleable nature of the material,
and the wavy shapes of the chair, which make it look pleasant and light. The
sculptural shape of the Wiggle Side Chair makes it stand out. Although
disconcertingly simple in their appearance, the Easy Edges have been designed
with the utmost care by the architect and are extremely robust and stable.
