New World

By Luke O’Reilly

Furniture designed for the Future

New World Exhibition

New World Exhibition

Bauhaus Archive

New World Exhibition

Bauhaus Archive

New World Exhibition

Our Workshop

To give children and adults across the world the opportunity to develop and showcase their creativity and problem-solving skills, build their confidence, curiosity and resilience to become caring citizens of our planet, all invaluable attributes that will support them as adults in their everyday life and chosen career paths.

Invent

We create free resources for organisations, creatives and industry professionals to encourage our groups to think up and draw great invention ideas. We work with partners to run challenges, events and workshops!

Make

We challenge skilled experts and makers to work with groups to turn their ideas into reality, from the practical to the fantastical, no limits.

Show

We showcase your inventions online and in books and exhibitions to inspire tomorrow’s inventors, designers, makers and problem-solvers to believe in their ability to make a difference.

MArcel Breuer

New World Exhibition

New World Exhibition

MArcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer was born on May 21, 1902, in Pécs, Hungary, a small town near the Danube River. After graduating from high school at the Magyar Királyi Föreáliskola in Pecs, Breuer enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna to study painting, where he had been offered a scholarship. He almost immediately disliked the program, however, and within weeks of joining, he left to begin an apprenticeship with a Viennese architect. Breuer was eager to work with his hands and joined the cabinetmaking studio of the architect’s brother. At age 18, in 1921, he moved to Weimar, Germany, to enrol at a new school called the Bauhaus, founded in 1919 with a mission to marry functional design with the principles of fine art. Its head, the architect Walter Gropius, immediately recognised Breuer’s talent and promoted him within a year to the head of the carpentry shop.

At the Bauhaus, Breuer produced the furniture for Gropius’ Sommerfeld House in Berlin as well as his acclaimed series of “African” and “Slatted” chairs.

But he also became acquainted with many of the most important artists of this era, who likewise worked and taught at the Bauhaus, including Wassily Kandinsky, László Moholy-Nagy, Paul Klee, and Josef Albers. Breuer later reflected that Klee served as one of his two greatest teachers in life, along with his high school geometry instructor. He has brought us timeless classic furniture design. This exhibition will consist of some of his most successful pieces such as the Wassily and B23 chair, that are still highly.

Marcel Breuer in the Wassily chair

Young Marcel Breuer, 1915

Wassily Chair

The infamous Club chair (model B3), also known as the Wassily chair, made in 1927. Breuer was influenced massively influenced by the De Stijl design principles when he was creating this chair. He was fascinated by the possibility of form and material, instead of using wooden struts and panels, he used more industrial materials, creating the frame out of tubular steel. The model B3 takes the form of a classic club chair but without the overstuffed and bulky padding. It shows so much elegance.

After he graduated, Breuer left the Bauhaus briefly in 1924 to work in Paris, but when the school moved to Dessau he returned to become head of the carpentry workshop. Ironically, at that time he changed materials and began producing furniture using an unabashedly industrial material: tubular steel rather than wood. Breuer’s switch to tube steel was prompted by his admiration for the frame of a bicycle he bought to ride around Dessau. Extruded from a mold, the seamless tubes could be produced in any length needed, then bent around forms into any desired shape. A plumber taught Breuer how to weld the tubes together, and with the Bauhaus weaving workshop to make the fabric, all of the parts came together for what would become Breuer’s signature style.

Wassily Chair (Model B3), 1927 designed by Marcel Breuer.

Kann wie Makkaroni gebogen werden

Marcel Breuer

Inspired by the frame of a bicycle and influenced by the constructivist theories of the De Stjil movement, Marcel Breuer was still an apprentice at the Bauhaus when he reduced the classic club chair to its elemental lines and planes, forever changing the course of furniture design.

Breuer bought his first bicycle. He was so impressed by its lightness and strength that he decided to make furniture from tubular steel. His first experimental tubular steel piece was the club style armchair about which he said, “It is my most extreme work both in its outward appearance and in the use of materials; it is the least artistic, the most logical, the least ‘cosy’ and the most mechanical.”

Wassily chair in a modern setting, showing the popularity of this design.

World Exhibition

Cesca B32

Breuer continued to refine the design, and the B33 version of the tube steel chair surprisingly has no back legs. Taking advantage of the strength of the steel, the seat is cantilevered off its front legs (a cantilever occurs when a beam or plane projects beyond its vertical support). There was some dispute about who was responsible for the first cantilevered tubular steel chair. Dutch architect Mart Stam was demonstrably the first to make one, but Breuer claimed he did so after a visit to his studio, during which Breuer showed Stam his ideas for a chair based on a tubular steel table turned on its side.

Breuer had used cantilevers in his furniture design as early as 1922: notice that the arms of his wooden armchair are cantilevered and not supported in front. The cantilevered seat marks the logical conclusion of the tube-steel chair, and is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of design. The use of a cantilever achieves several things at once. First, it allows the chair to be made of seemingly one single, continuous length of tubing, with just twelve right-angle bends, although cross braces were frequently welded beneath the seat for added rigidity. This considerably simplifies the manufacturing process in comparison to the much more complicated, multi-part, multi-weld Wassily armchair discussed in the last chapter.

a chair that floated on an elastic column of air

Marcel Breuer

Cesca B32, 1922

Gerrit Rietveld

New World Exhibition

New World Exhibition

Gerrit Rietveld

Gerrit Rietveld (Utrecht June 24, 1888 – June 25, 1964) learned from a young age the art of furniture making in his father’s workshop. Later on he developed his skills in architectural drawing and later architecture through additional training courses, which brought him in contact with members of art movement De Stijl such as Robert van ‘t Hoff, Bart van der Leck and Theo van Doesburg.

Rietveld developed into an artist with a strong vision, his architecture and furniture designs are world famous. His Red-Blue chair, Zig-Zag chair, the Crate Furniture and the Press Room Chair are now real design classics that are here to stay in museums and the modern interior.

After the closure of De Stijl in 1931, a difficult period started for Rietveld. Due to crisis and war less was built and he is forbidden to work. In this period, Rietveld does make a large number of furniture designs. After the war he gets more assignments and his great success follows. In the second half of the 1950s he worked on major projects such as the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the construction of De Ploeg weaving mill in Bergeijk and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. In 1958 he designed the famous Press Room Chair for UNESCO in Paris and in the same year he designs the Netherlands Pavilion for the World’s Fair in Brussels.

Architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld

Gerrit Rietveld outside his furniture shop 1920

Bauhaus Archive

New World Exhibition

Red Blue chair

The infamous Red Blue chair, designed by the Dutch architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld. This chair was originally designed in 1918 but its iconic colour scheme of red, blue, yellow and black was applied in 1923, with direct influence from the Dutch de Stijl. Much like Rietveld’s architecture, the chair resembles through its interaction of vertical and horizontal planes. Rietveld’s hope for this chair was for it to become massproduced hence why he decided to keep the design. The wood panels that make up the chair are made in the normal lumbar sizes that were readily available at the time.

After the closure of De Stijl in 1931, a difficult period started for Rietveld. Due to crisis and war less was built and he is forbidden to work. In this period, Rietveld does make a large number of furniture designs. After the war he gets more assignments and his great success follows. In the second half of the 1950s he worked on major projects such as the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the construction of De Ploeg weaving mill in Bergeijk and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. In 1958 he designed the famous Press Room Chair for UNESCO in Paris and in the same year he designs the Netherlands Pavilion for the World’s Fair in Brussels.

Red Blue chair 1923, designed by Gerrit Reitveld

to create a utopia based on a harmonic humanmade order

Schröder, who was closely involved in the design, requested the house be made without interior walls as she wanted a connection between the inside and outside. There was an open-plan layout downstairs, while upstairs could be divided by a system of sliding and revolving panels giving almost endless permutations to the space. Designed for not just as a chair but as a form of activity. The stylistic singularity of the object finds its ultimate expression in the colored version, with an open pore finish that enhances the veins in the wood. It was one of the first models reinterpreted by Cassina, to mark the launch of the I Maestri.

Red Blue chair photographed contrasting new world of furniture design, in a classical traditional living room.

New World Exhibition

zig zag chair

Zig Zag Chair 1934, designed by Gerrit Rietveld

Designed by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld in 1934 and quickly deemed a design icon, the Zig Zag chair is one of the first examples of a cantilevered solid wood chair, formed by four flat pieces of wood joined in rhythmic sequence to create an extremely sophisticated appearance of instability while also being extremely sturdy.

Within the complete works of Gerrit Rietveld, the Zig-Zag chair is the most economical example of material form. With such an uncompromising reduced chair design even the glands of the chair appeared as decorative. Simple geometric shapes without any ornamental surface design refer to the most original concept ideas of Bauhaus furniture combining the idea of form and function.

The stylistic singularity of the object finds its ultimate expression in the colored version, with an open pore finish that enhances the veins in the wood. It was one of the first models reinterpreted by Cassina, to mark the launch of the I Maestri.

Within the complete works of Gerrit Rietveld, the Zig-Zag chair is the most economical example of material form. With such an uncompromising reduced chair design even the glands of the chair appeared as decorative. Simple geometric shapes without any ornamental surface design refer to the most original concept ideas of Bauhaus furniture combining the idea of form and function.

Innovative joinery connecting the seat to the leg of the Zig Zag chair.

New World Exhibition

Sitting is a verb. If you’re tired, lie down.

Gerrit Rietveld

tejo remy

Tejo Remy works as a product, interior and public space designer together with Rene Veenhuizen in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Considering everything as material, Remy incorporates existing information, circumstances, or found goods into new situations, often bringing in more social contact or, telling the story of a particular place. Remy transforms the familiar, yet the feeling remains. Having collaborated with Droog since its inception with the 1991 classics Chest of drawers, Rag Chair and Milk bottle lamps, Remy has reached international acclaim. His commissioners and exhibitors include Museum of Art and Design in New York, Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum in New York, MoMA in New York, Stedelijk Musuem in Amsterdam, Museum Boymans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, ACME Gallery in Los Angeles and the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning.

rag chair

This chair is layered from the contents of 15 bags of rags. It arrives ready made but the user has the option to recycle its own discarded clothes to be included in the design. Each piece is unique; a treasurechest of memories.

Rag Chair by Tejo Remy

Do Hit Chair

Do Hit Chair shaped, by Marijn van der Poll

This Do hit chair was shaped by the designer. With the hammer provided and your own resources you shape the metal box into whatever you choose it to be. After a few minutes or hours of hard work you become the co-designer of Do hit.

Do Hit Chair being shaped by designer

New World Exhibition

New World Exhibition

Rugosa

In our world, new collections take time. Aside from inspirationseeking and ideation, the logistics of producing premium quality, American-made furniture using only natural, domestic materials takes years to get just right.

But one way we do have an opportunity to explore more ephemeral sources of inspiration and seasonality is with color and upholstery. It also lets us expand and reinvigorate existing work through a new lens without overproducing. When we first designed Rugosa, we were coming off of our annual stay at the Rhode Island home for which the collection is named. The colors and textures reflect the ease and brightness of summer, and nod to the salt-crusted rocky shores and apricot sunsets of Narragansett.

Rugosa Fall Color Collection

Rugosa Fall Color Collection, Blue

New World Exhibition

For the new fall collection of colors, we were inspired, as ever, by natural materials that feel good against skin and balance sturdiness with softness. We chose a mohair crafted by the oldest continuous manufacturer of woven velvets that traces its history to the invention of the double shuttle loom. Our premium Belgian linens come from a fifth-generation, family-run manufacturer with 160 years of experience.

Rugosa Fall Color Collection, Green

New World Exhibition

Kin & company

Thin Chair

Kin & Company is the Brooklyn design practice of cousins Joseph Vidich, a Columbia University-trained architect with a deep knowledge of metalworking and fabrication, and Kira de Paola, an interior designer with a background in high-end furniture.

After years of refining their edgy aesthetic, Kin & Company’s premiere collection debuted in 2017 at the fairs Sight Unseen OFFSITE and WantedDesign, where they received immediate attention for their sculptural, lifelike pieces. Their Thin Series was selected as an NYCxDesign finalist in the Made in the Boroughs category, and was name-checked by Dezeen, while their Crescent Table landed them on Sight Unseen’s American Design Hot List, ”an unapologetically subjective editorial award for the names to know now,” and a veritable who’s who of independent designers.

The juxtaposition between the playful, anthropomorphic design of the Thin Chair and its subtle form and detailing, results in a piece that is equal parts whimsical and sophisticated

Thin chair, by KIN & COMPANY

Bibliography

Thames and Hudson, 1986, archive.org/details/twentiethcentury0000bayl_a5i2.

Internet Archive. Icons of Design! : The 20th Century. Internet Archive, Munich ; New York : Prestel, 2000, archive.org/details/iconsofdesign20t0000unse/page/92/mode/1up?view=theater. Accessed 3 Dec. 2021.

Pearce, Chris, and Internet Archive. Twentieth Century Design Classics. Internet Archive, London : Blossom, 1991, archive.org/details/twentiethcentury0000pear/page/7/mode/1up?view=theater. Accessed 8 Dec. 2021.

Berry, Craig. “Design Classics.” Medium, 6 Apr. 2021, craigberry93.medium.com/designclassicsed2be0b1ed0a. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021.

“Club Chair (Model B3).” The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, 2019, www.moma.org/collection/works/2851.

Gerrit Rietveld. “Red Blue Chair.” The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, 2019, www.moma.org/collection/ works/4044.

Mendelsohn, Hadley. “The Noguchi Coffee Table Brings Beauty and Meaning to Everyday Life.” House Beautiful, 1 Apr. 2021, www.housebeautiful.com/shopping/furniture/a35996819/isamu-noguchi-tablehistory/. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021.

Tate. “Tate.” Tate, 2016, www.tate.org.uk. Valle, Iv. “Alex Milton, Paul Rodgers Product Design.” Www.academia.edu, 2011, www.academia. edu/35908290/Alex_Milton_Paul_Rodgers_Product_Design. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021.

“What Makes a Design Classic?” The Independent, 27 Aug. 1999, www.independent.co.uk/news/whatmakes-a-design-classic-1115520.html.

Bayley, Stephen, and Internet Archive. Twentieth-Century Style & Design. Internet Archive, London :

The Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung is home to the world’s largest Bauhaus collection with around one million objects. Though only few of these objects have been exhibited so far, numerous digital images of them exist. How can we bring these unknown treasures to light? The Bauhaus Infinity Archive installation takes advantage of the power of artificial intelligence.