JOSEF HOFFMANN SITZMASHINE 1908
20TH CENTURY FURNITURE DESIGN TASK
3
SAM FULLER_s3432340_JUNE 2015
HOFFMANN
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
INTRODUCTION BIOGRAPHY KEY WORKS KEY WORKS ANALYSIS CONCEPTS CONCEPTS CONCEPTS REFLECTION BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONTENTS
HOFFMANN
INTRODUCTION
Continueing on from task 2, task 3 allows me to put myself into Josef Hoffmanns shoes and ask myself as he would, “how would I design it?” My task was to design a piece of furniture of my choice keeping close to the Elements and Principles that Hoffmann used in a previous design. I had to keep in mind that some modern day processes cannot be used in the manufacture of the piece because they may not have been accessible back when Hoffmann was around.
HOFFMANN
BIOGRAPHY
Josef Hoffmann is considered as a pioneer and the central protagonist of Viennese Modernism, whose work is much more experimental than is commonly known. Josef Hoffmann in his early years was surrounded by some incredible designers. The professors he had at university although didn’t start to produce much “Modernist” work until after Josef had graduated. This is not to say that his professors didn’t help Josef find his style of design, quite the opposite. They helped in a more psychological sense. They made Josef begin to stop thinking so much about aesthetics and more about function. The period between 1890 and 1917 was when the foundations were laid for the artistic development of our world today. Josef Hoffmann, a pupil of K. von Hasenauer and Otto wagner, was one of the first designers to experiment with this modernist style. Josef was born in Brtnice in the Czech Republic. He studied architecture at the trade school in Brűnn where he learnt the architectural basics of classical design before crossing the border into Austria to continue his study of Architecture at the Vienna Academy of art. There he was surrounded by some of the most influential Designers of the day and where Josef was able to absorb all this real world experience and begin to discover his own very unique style.
HOFFMANN
KEY WORKS Josef Hoffmann designed numerous cutlery services between 1903 and 1930. The design prompted mixed reactions from the press, with some praising its rational simplicity of form, and others complaining of a ‘clinical’ character which made the cutlery feel like ‘surgical instruments’. The design was one of Hoffmann’s most successful and is still in production today by Alessi.
Around the years 1910-14 Josef Hoffmann’s architecture and design exhibited a strong neo-classical aesthetic, seen here in the physical monumentalism of his Gallia apartment furniture. The fluted legs of his Chairs may be interpreted as pillars but they rise without a base and terminate at the top rail with a narrow band of beads. This leaves the view wondering whether the fluting represents pillars and the beads possibly a column capital. It is unclear if these elements should be interpreted stucturally or as surface embellishment. Similarly, Hoffmann employs fluting on the legs of the table but, unusually continues it around the apron. THe tectonic significance of the fluting is thus entiirely negated and its role left ambiguous
HOFFMANN
KEY WORKS
This work table created for the boudoir of Hermine Gallia epitomises the philosophy of design pursued by Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstatte which may be contrasted with the work of Adolf Loos represented by the furniture on the platform opposite. The work table presents a clean, modern appearance, its smooth, white-painted surfaces highlighted by flat carved and gilded, stylised floral motifs owing nothing to the dark, carved, historical-revival furniture which remained fashionable amongst Vienna’s traditional elites at the time. But whilst the table’s appearance may be The Sitzmaschine, that is, the "machine for sitting," was originally designed by Hoffmann self-consciously modern, the table’s for his Purkersdorf Sanatorium in Vienna. The function speaks of a very traditional social milieu, with women occupied by sanatorium was one of the first important commissions given to the Wiener Werkstätte, a traditional activities, needlework, in the home. collaborative founded in 1903 by Hoffmann and Koloman Moser espousing many of the English Arts and Crafts movement's tenets of good design and high-quality craftsmanship. It represents one of Hoffmann's earliest experiments in unifying a building and its furnishings as a total work of art. The Sitzmaschine makes clear reference to an adjustable-back English Arts and Crafts chair known as the Morris chair, designed by Philip Webb around 1866. It also stands as an allegorical celebration of the machine. This armchair, with its exposed structure, demonstrates a rational simplification of forms suited to machine production. Yet, at the same time, the grid of squares piercing the rectangular back splat, the bentwood loops that form the armrests and legs, and the rows of knobs on the adjustable back illustrate the fusion of decorative and structural elements
HOFFMANN Hoffmann’s Sitzmashine employs geometrical motifs to successfully create form from ornament. A carefully calculated interplay of squares and balls, radical appearance of the Sitzmashine is in fact a formal reimagining of the adjustable-backed armchair designed by Philip Webb for Morris & Co. around 1869. But unlike Morris and his followers, who rejected machine production techniques in favour of a medievalising handcraft ideal, Hoffmann embraces the potential of inexpensive bentwood technology to realise practical furniture in a modern style.
ANALYSIS
HOFFMANN
CONCEPTS
HOFFMANN
CONCEPTS
HOFFMANN
CONCEPTS
HOFFMANN
REFLECTION
My time spent researching Josef Hoffmann has been inspiring. I had never heard Hoffmann’s name before this project and he has now taken hold of my train of thought. Every day now I spot pieces of architecture that has had the Hoffmann touch. I can’t help myself but look up the buildings history and find out when it was built and it’s usually between 1910 and 1920. Hoffmann was a game changer and it shows in his designs. It’s not truly admired by people who don’t know the actual dates of when he was around. It’s not until you see who he was competing with and what his competition was designing. Only a handful of other designers are documented of designing in a modernism style. Hoffmann’s visions were simplistic and controversial but they were made at the highest of qualities. I’m addicted to his cutlery and it is now my dying wish to own a set. I’ve absolutely loved my time reading about his history. I will admit that I was a little too interested so I ended up reading too much and not enough time taking notes. I’m looking forward to using Hoffmann as an influence on my future designs.
HOFFMANN
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/20734/ http://www.wittmann.at/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/960x960_ReEdition_Hoffmann_Detail.jpg https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/armchairs/sitzmaschine-von-josef-hoffmann-1908/id-f_873633/ http://www.atomicinteriors.co.uk/images/products/1604/sitzmaster.jpg http://www.atomicinteriors.co.uk/product/vitra-miniature-sitzmaschine-chair http://www.architonic.com/pmsht/sitzmaschine-wittmann/1009387 http://image.architonic.com/img_pro2-1/100/9387/sitzmaschine_z.jpg http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=3431 http://www.design-museum.de/en/collection/100-masterpieces/detailseiten/sitzmaschine-josef-hoffmann.html