INFLUENCING
Looking into Breuers design language and the characterisation
KNOWING
Exploring Bruers background and some of his existing designs known as the B series
Designing whilst considering the limitations of Breuers materials and methods
BECOMING The M series inspired by the designs of the B series and adpots tubular steel structure
THE M SERIES
M S E R I E S
M. Marcel Breuer Inspired. New items of furniture that are inspired and influenced by Marcel Breuers work and era.
Maddi Murray s3543317
CONTENTS 01
Introduction
02
Marcel Breuer
03
Precedent
04
Bauhaus
05
Shape and Line
06
Colour
07
Tubular Steel
08
Ideation Page
09
Vase
10
Light
11
Bookshelf
12
Clothings Stand
13
M3 Development
Breif background
The designer and architect
B Series
Influences of value
Using tubular steel
Material finish
Limitations of steel
Beginning M series
M1
M2
M3
M4
Final Concept
Introduction. / Being Breuer
arcel Breuer has been an incredibly influential designer and a renown 20th Mcentury furniture designer. Most famous for being the first to use tubular steel
in domestic use, Breuer transformed the world of mass production through the use of seamless tubular steel a manufacturing method that was recently refined during his time. But Breuer wasn’t just a designer, he was an architect who adopted the use of concrete and brutalism into many of his creations. Influenced greatly by his education at the Bauhaus, Breuer’s designs adopt many of the Bauhaus’ values making his designs extremely identifiable. In order to design furniture inspired by Breuer I decided to create furniture that is not part of his B series. Although some of his designs do not incorporate tubular steel, his most famous furniture pieces such as the Wassily chair does. In turn, I decided to incorporate the tubular steel into all of my designs. Personally using tubular steel to create furniture seem incredibly interesting. Having to consider the constraints of the tubular steel and juxtapose the curvature of tubing with the complimenting material of the furniture is fascinating. My designs have considered all elements of Breuers influences and as a result fit into the same design language.
Marcel Breuer.
/ A Brief Biography
To many, Marcel Breuer is one of the most iconic designers of 20th-century furniture de- sign. The Hungarian-born modernist is acclaimed for unique furniture designs using steel piping and Bauhaus fundamentals of “art into industry”. Breuer established himself not only as a successful designer but also as an architect re ecting brutalism in many of construc- tions. His works helped to shape the future of industrial design, no longer designing for art but also for mass production. His of his arguably more famous designs, the Wassily Chair or the B3 Model is still manufactured, replicated and sold all over the globe. It is clear that Breuer was a timeless designer and a man conceptualising and creating for the future. Marcel Breuer was born in Pécs, Austria – Hungary on the 21st of May 1902. After graduating from high school in 1920 he received a scholarship to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He quickly changed to the Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar and studied Johannes It-
ten’s preliminary course. Walter Gropius played a large role throughout Breuer’s career and their rst association with each other was in Gropius’ car- pentry Workshop that Breuer studies from 1921 to 1924. After graduating from the Bauhaus, Chamber of Crafts in 1924 Marcel Breuer became an associate of the school working fexible hours allowing him to continue design- ing. He was to facilitate between the masters of form and work and was promoted to Junior Master of the school in 1925. Also in 1925 he created the famous B3 chair or the Wassily Chair which was the rst design to use tubular steel for domestic use. Eventually, Breuer was teaching his own department of architecture at the school, his classes being extremely popular with students. His education at the Bauhaus I was reflected in many of his designs and the focus on mass production at the Bauhaus gave Breuer the tools for designing furniture that can still be manufactured today.
Bruers designs are very much focused on creating a balance in line and shape with the curved of the steel and the straight lines of the material.
Brutalism in much of his architectual designs. Simple and harsh design is reflected though his creations.
When placed in context the seats are demonstrated as a work of art that breaks up a room with the unique design.
Tubular steel features in a range of Breuers designs. He uses this as his design language in most of his designs.
Complimentary materials creates what Breuers creates shape and balance.
Precedents. Looking at Breuers existing work its clear to see that he has a very particular design language characterising his work. Tubular steel is an obvious identifyer but the other materials used in combination with the steel is what is interesting. A lot of the work has an interesting aethstetic that transends in choice of material, line and shape. To be able to use Breuers work as inspiration these aspects will need to be considered.
Being Breuer. / Breuers influences and characterisation
Bauhaus.
The Bauhaus was founded in 1919 and located in Weimar, Germany. The school was known for its aim to “reimagine the material world and to re-erect unity in all the arts”- met museum. By combining architecture, sculpture and painting into a single expression the school produced students that could design and manufacture completely unique creations that would shape 20th-century design. The school also had a strong focus on designing for mass production also known by the school as art into industry. The cabinet-making workshop was one of the most popular, which Marcel Breuer both studied and taught between 1924- 1928. The subject dematerialised conventional forms to their minimal existence allowing students to understand function and then providing them with the freedom to design without the constraints of expectation. The school provided Breuer with a universal language appropriate to the modern era and demon- strated to him the ideal fusion between form and function. Much of the furniture designed by students or teachers at the Bauhaus have a similar aesthetic. This seems to have a relationship with the values and fundamentals of the Bauhaus. Especially in the cabinet-making workshop there was a strong focus on the function if the furniture and how this manipulates or transforms the design. Through exploring the effect of the Bauhaus on Marcel Breuers designs I begin to understand certain elements and considerations he may have conducted whilst designing. Particularly the functionality of the piece of furniture and whether it is completeing the task required as well as the more poetic and artistic aspects of the piece and translating the Baushaus’ “art into industry”
Shape & Line.
FIG. 1
FIG. 2 When first exploring how I could incorporate Breuers design characteristics into my own designs I began to identity such indicators such as gently curved tubular steel or repeated geometric shapes within each of the designs. Breuer’s Wassily chair was said to be inspired by his bicycles handlebars. Being inspired by such a functional item that often is considered artistic or beautiful is interesting. I began to notice objects with tubular steel around me such as lamp posts and considered how they could influence my designs. Looking closely at Breuers designs he has created a design language for himself in terms of line. The tubular steel in his furniture creates the curves of the design with the gently curved corners and fluid transitions of the straight central skeleton. These curved lines juxtapose the solid strength of our perception of steel and allow it to be seen in a new poetic aspect. As for the straight lines in the design it tends to be the added materials that add the geometric element made up of squares and rectangles. For example, the Wassily chair in fig 2. the white cotton creates the linear lines almost breaking up the curvature of the steel disguising the work as quite geometric. And if fig 1. the tubular steel creates the soft curve of the design whilst the timber draws and desk make up the angular aspects of the work creating perfect balance.
FIG. 3 Breuer seemed to be quite inspired by object around him that aren’t necessarily considered works of art such as bicycle handle bars or light poles. When looking at tubular steel as objects its clear Breuer must have taken into consideration already existing tubular steel objects and how the joints and manufacturing methods work. I tried to do the same by noticing any existing objects that seem to be similar to Breuer’s existing works such as a bike rack. I noticed that it used a similar bend of supporting steel similar to Fig 3. supporting steel beneath the seat. Taking all of these aspects into consideration Breuer’s design language in terms of shape and line becomes quite clear. He has such an interesting understanding of balance and aesthetics and this transcends directly into his designs.
In terms of colour Breuer’s designs or sold in many different options today, but the originals of many of his designs were monotones I believe he focuses on the fundamentals of the design other than the more aesthetic elements. Tubular steel is without a doubt a major indicator of Breuers design. Surprisingly it doesn’t seem he experimented with different colours or metals. Bauhaus seemed to ingrain maintaining materials simple purity and not over complicate designing.
I think because of this, he kept the steel in its raw state to show off its already existing qualities. Although interesting replicas of his Wassily chair has been made using brass or steel painted black they don’t seem to have quite the same effect and aesthetic. All of my designs will keep the steel in its original polished form. Breuer uses many different materials in unison with the tubular steel such as plastics, woods, fabric and leather. The materials have a simplicity to them that complement the tubular steel. He seems to use glass when creating any hard surface such as shelving or table top. For seating material he tends to use cotton or leather in a single colour and sometimes uses plastic for any extras such as arm rests etc. Overall it seems as though Breuer’s doesn’t over complicate his designs in terms of colours and materials. He also has strong continuity between the materials and each of his designs and I will definitely take this into consideration when designing.
Colour & Texture.
Tubular Steel. Breuer discovered the design opportunity of tubular steel when creating the Wassily Chair. The use of tubular steel for furniture was only possible because the German steel manufacturing company Mannesmann had recently perfected a process for making seamless steel tubing. Previously there was a welded seam that would collapse when bent into the curved shapes featured in the designs of the chair. The design of this tubular steel chair brought the light metallic, gleaming look, to modernist design and it was perfect for mass production as it was low in cost, hygienic and durable Breuer’s works that I’d like to influence my designs is that of his B3 series. This series using tubular steel as its defining material. In order to use the material, I have to understand the restraints involved with the manufacturing methods. Mannesman was the first company to refine tubular steel and to this day is still the most impressionable in the market. Tubular steel technology was developed during the 19th century. Originally individual pieces of steel were but welded but this new manufacturing method allowed curved pieces that would usually break if put pressure on could now withstand the issue and had a seamless finish. Today, welding has been pushed out as a necessity for many manufacturing methods. The tubing itself is measured by the diameter of the inner circle and outer circle and the thickness of the pipe, the maximum thickness is 660mm. The production itself involves continuous forming of strip, sheet or plate metal into strands. The standards of the tubing is used to define the type of tubing and manufacturing method used and can be classified either as DIN 2458 or DIN 2448. Due to the small size of the designs of M Series I will be using DIN 2458. The production rage for the tube will be stretch reducing manufacturing due to the thickness being less than 20mm and the diameter less than 50mm. I have discovered that there could be some issues locating a company to produce the steel within Australia as using tubular steel for this small scale domestic use is not very common.
M Series. / Concept development inspired by Breuers B Series
M.
Vase holds larger bundles of flowers for a table centre piece etc. Curves cretes by steel whilst glass creates angles
Ideation Page. / Concept development
Vases. The vase designs use glass and tubular steel to create a Breuer inspired design. Tubular steel creates the curves
Bunched of flowers place in these vases
This vase uses glass to create the angular aspects
Floor Lamps. These floor lamps are made completely out of tubular steel and steel sheet.
Light shines from inset LEDS
This shade is made from a tinted glass
A lot of curve in this design not nessesarily a completely ‘Breuer’ design
The base of this lamp is made out of black plastic the supports the tubular steel frame
Book Case. The vase designs use glass and tubular steel to create a Breuer inspired design.
The bookcases skeleton is made from tubular steel
The internal shelves are made from leather and reinforced
Rack is made from tubular steel
Small bowl for accessories
This shelving unit is reinforced onto the wall and is made from glass and tubular steel
Glass, circular top to place shoes etc.
Clothing Rack. Rounded base compliments glass top
The clothing racks are made from tubular steel and adopt a very simple design.
Tubular steel double rack for tops and longer item of clothing
M. M1.
/ Glass Vase
Sharp corners of glass juxtaposes cylidrical shape of the steel create balance that Breuer creates Light blue glass compliments the harsh tubular steel
Interesting and unique design but doesn’t comprimise the functionality
Both the glass and steel have a sheen simiplar to Breuers designs
Gental curves of steel reflecting Bruers use of steel to create curvature in design
M. M2.
/ Floor Lamp
LED lights set into the tubular steel to create a seamless and perfect finish
Simple design that doesn’t comprimise function of a lamp
Gental curvature in the steel similar to Breuer
Plastic base simiplar to arm rests similar Balance between the edges of the plastic and curve of steel
M. M3.
/ Book Case
curves creates by steel and angles created by timber very similar to Breuers design language
MInimalistic bookcase using tubular steel and timber shelves
larger spaces left room for placing vases or lights etc may be some issues with books falling off the sides
tubular steel edges are neatly cut off and timbr sits next to the tubing
space at the bottom for a stool or similar
M. M4.
/ Clothes Hanger
shelf at top to store hats, shoes etc
slight gap between glass and steel to allow for hangers
hangers are hung on the first tubular pole to allow the stand to be placed right up against a wall
Circular glass is similar to some of the shapes Breuers previously adopted when using the material
quite a curved and gental design but adresses the fundemental
M. M3.
/ Book Case
The M3 Bookcase is a Marcel Breuer inspired piece that embodies his characteristics of furniture design and the driving Bauhaus objective to reconcile art and industry. The design uses materials not traditionally used for domestic uses and transforms them into a functional furniture. Whilst Breuer adopts a value of functionality ingrained into him by the Bauhaus he does not compromise the artisic qualities of the work. With this comes Breuers design language. Over the years that he has created his furniture Breuers has created suttle rules by which he abides to when designing. Firstly Breuer focuses on blanace between straight edges and curves. He tends to allow the tubular steel to act as the curves and the added material becomes the angular aspects of the design. As Breuer developed his designing skills at the Bauhaus functionality of a piece of furniture is always a main focus. My original concept for this design was without the sides of timber but after considering that a bookcase has to allow books to lean up against something for the final designs I added the sides in. I’ve allowed for larger spaces within the design for vases or other orniments. The bottom gap is for a stool or similar to read a book or possibly use the space above as a desk and the vase space for a laptop. The M1 Vase can be seen within the design holding a flowers. Made from chrome for the tubular steel and Oak.
M. M3.
/ Book Case
Side View 1
Front View
M. M3.
/ Book Case
Reflection Overall I foundthis assignment extremly interesting. It was greate to put my head in the mind of Breuers and allowed to to start to understand how he thought as a designmer and what formed his designs. But also how his experience and significant events shaped his perception of what deign needed to be and gave him the push he needed to travel. Its made me realise how important it is to travel and involve your personal experiences into your designs. Understanding Breuers design language and how he achieved it also helped to realise that in order to be a succesful designer I may too need to develop a design language and develop a personal style. Breuer is also very much influenced by fuctionality which was always something I put second after the creativity of the design. It was interesting to interperate this thought process and understand how it may change my designs.
References Flask, Dominic. “De Stijl : Design Is History”. Designishistory.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016. “Marcel Breuer”. Nbm.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016. “Marcel Breuer”. Design-technology.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016. “Marcel Breuer (1902-1981): Design & Architecture | Yatzer”. Yatzer. N.p., 2013. Web. 15 Aug. 2016. “Marcel Breuer Digital Archive”. Breuer.syr.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016. “Master”. Marcelbreuer.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016. “Theo Van Doesburg Biography, Art, And Analysis Of Works”. The Art Story. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016. “Wassily Chair | Knoll”. Knoll.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016
Side View 2