Exhibition Tubular Steel Furniture Classics Exposé

Exhibition Tubular Steel Furniture Classics
Exposé
Exhibition concept
This exhibition documents an important and interesting epoch in modern furniture history: the development of tubular steel furniture and, coupled with that,
the invention of the cantilever chair in the 1920s/1930s. Bauhaus teachers and
designers who were influenced by the Bauhaus experimented with the new material and realized clear and unadorned designs. Thonet was a partner from the
beginning and took over the production and distribution of the models. Many of
them are still part of our program today, and all of them are classics of furniture
history.
The exhibition offers an overview of these products, which are presented as originals. In addition, visitors are given information about the development history,
designer biographies and details of each product. The Thonet film is also part
of the exhibition and presents video clips of our production facilities and places
where Thonet furniture is used.
The exhibition is suitable for specialist trade partner showrooms, design centers
and galleries.
Facts I
Floor space requirements: min. 80-100 square meters, can be expanded to 200
square meters. The exhibition design is variable. The exhibits should be presented on pedestals, base plates, or standing on the floor (pedestals and base plates
are not included in delivery). The banners can be placed in the space, hung from
the ceiling or on walls.
Arrangement: The arrangement of the models follows the designers: Mart Stam,
Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Thonet, and each one has its own
information banner.
Exhibition duration: ideally 4-6 weeks, a minimum of 6 weeks is needed for
planning and preparations (e.g., printing and mailing of invitation cards), plus
delivery time and shipping of the exhibits.
Facts II
Design templates for invitation cards and advertisements as well as press texts
and images are provided by Thonet. The partner on site assumes responsibility
for the cost of printing, distribution, and advertising. The partner on site also
pays for assembly and disassembly and is responsible for the quality of the
exhibits. The exhibition is insured.
Organization:
On-site contact partner and supporter is the appropriate sales employee.
Internally, the contact partner is Victoria Rogalla, T. +49 6451-508-165,
e-mail [email protected].
Products
ModelName
B 9 a
side table chrome, RAL 3013
B 9 b
side table chrome, RAL 3013
B 9 c
side table chrome, RAL 3013
B 9 d
side table chrome, RAL 3013
Set B 9 a-d side tables nickel-plated, solid walnut oiled
B 10/1
side table chrome, RAL 9010
B 22 b
shelf chrome, RAL 9010
B 97 a
side table and quartetto table chrome, matte black
B 97 b
side table and quartetto table chrome, matte black
B 106
media sideboard chrome, RAL 9010 B 108
console table chrome, RAL 9010
B 109
table chrome, RAL 9005 B 117
table with drawers chrome, body matte black S 32 N
cantilever chrome, beech TP 29, black synthetic mesh
S 32 PV
cantilever chrome, leather black TL 9 S 32 PV
cantilever nickel-plated, nappa leather 2617 cognac/yarn 406 dark brown
S 32 V
cantilever chrome, black lacquered
S 64 N
cantilever chrome, beech TP 29
S 64 N
cantilever nickel-plated, armrests walnut oiled, black synthetic mesh
S 64 PV
cantilever nickel-plated, nubuck leather 10 black /yarn 968 yellow
S 64 V
cantilever chrome, beech TP 29 S 33
cantilever chrome, butt leather natural S 33 N
cantilever chrome, silver synthetic mesh
S 34 N
cantilever chrome, silver synthetic mesh S 40
cantilever chrome, Iroko S 40 F
cantilever stainless steel, Iroko
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 1016 sulfur yellow
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 3013 tomato red
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 7038 grey
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 2004 orange
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 3020 traffic red
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 3011 brown red
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 6018 yellow green
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 5021 water blue
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 5012 light blue
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 7016 anthracite grey
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Products
ModelName
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 9005 deep black
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 9010 pure white
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech TP 29 black
S 43
cantilever chrome, beech TP 17 nature S 43 F
cantilever chrome, beech TP 107 S 43 K
cantilever chrome, beech NCS S0520-G80Y yellow
S 43 K
cantilever chrome, beech SO510-R rose
S 43 K
cantilever chrome, beech S0520-R80B light blue
S 43 K
cantilever chrome, beech RAL 9010 white S 285
desk chrome, ash TP 29 S 411
armchair chrome, leather TL 9 black S 411 H
ottoman chrome, leather TL 9 black S 533 R
cantilever chrome, wickerwork S 1047
extendable table chrome, beech TP 29, 110 cm round Sales tool Pure Materials
Banner Tubular steel furniture classics
Banner
Thonet - Pioneer of industrial design
BannerHistory
Banner
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Banner
Marcel Breuer
Banner
Mart Stam
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Exhibition elements
Exhibits/products: Models and versions according to attached table are available. The color varnished S 43 (anniversary edition on the occasion of 90 years
Bauhaus) should be presented in total.
Ludwig
Stahlrohr
Möbel
Klassiker
Mies van der Rohe
Marcel Breuer
Mart Stam
1886-1969
1902-1981
1899-1986
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, in Aachen (D) geboren, trat mit 22
Jahren in das Architekturbüro von Peter Behrens ein, wo er Walter
Gropius und Le Corbusier traf. Bald wurde Mies ein Protagonist
des neuartigen Glas- und Skelettbaus. Seit 1925 war er verantwortlich für die künstlerische Leitung des Deutschen Werkbundes.
1927 entstand unter seiner Regie die Weißenhofsiedlung. 1930
wurde er von Walter Gropius zum Direktor des Bauhauses berufen,
das er 1933 auf Druck der NSDAP auflösen musste. Danach
emigrierte er in die USA.
banner_stahlrohr_80x200cm.indd 1
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banner_stahlrohr_80x200cm.indd 4
Marcel Breuer, geboren in Pécs (HUN). Nach seinem Studium am
Bauhaus übernahm er von 1925 bis 1928 die Leitung der Tischlerwerkstatt. In dieser Zeit war er stark vom Konstruktivismus und
De Stijl geprägt und entwickelte zahlreiche Möbelentwürfe aus
Stahlrohr. Nach einem Aufenthalt in der Schweiz zog er 1935 nach
London. 1937 erhielt er eine Professur an der Harvard Universität
(USA) und gründete zusammen mit Walter Gropius ein Architekturbüro, später eröffnete er sein eigenes Studio in New York.
Geschichte
Mart Stam, in Purmerend (NL) geboren, war einer der bedeutendsten Architekten der Moderne und ein Pionier des modernen Möbeldesigns. 1927 leistete er einen aufsehenerregenden Beitrag zur
Weißenhof-Siedlung – als Architekt und Gestalter. 1928/29 war er
als Gastdozent am Bauhaus tätig. Sein Interesse galt der Städteplanung und dem sozialen Wohnungsbau. So arbeitete er an
verschiedenen Orten, u.a. in Russland. Im Alter siedelte er in die
Schweiz um.
Thonet – Pionier des Industrie-Designs. Mit der Erfindung der
Möbel aus gebogenem Holz und ihrer Fertigung im BaukastenPrinzip hat Michael Thonet als erster den Grundstein für die industrielle Möbelproduktion gelegt.
Er wurde 1796 in Boppard am Rhein geboren und
eröffnete dort 1819 seine eigene Werkstatt. 1842
holte ihn Fürst Metternich nach Wien. Gemeinsam mit seinen Söhnen gründete er 1849 ein Unternehmen, das in kurzer Zeit weltweit erfolgreich
war und schnell expandierte. In Fabriken im heutigen Tschechien, Ungarn und Russland wurden über 865.000
Bugholzstühle pro Jahr produziert. 1871 starb Michael Thonet in
Wien, das Unternehmen wurde von den Söhnen weiter geführt.
In den 1930er Jahren engagierte sich Thonet für Konstruktion und
Technik der Möbel aus Stahlrohr und avancierte schnell zum größten Hersteller der Welt. Neben Entwürfen von Architekten wurden zahlreiche werkseigene Modelle produziert. Der Zweite Weltkrieg brachte eine harte
Zäsur: die Werke in den Ostgebieten wurden
enteignet. Die Fabrik in Frankenberg (Deutschland), 1889 gegründet, ist seitdem Firmensitz
und Produktionsstandort.
Die Entwicklung der Stahlrohrmöbel in den 1920/30er Jahren
gilt als Meilenstein in der Geschichte des modernen Möbels. Ihre
klare Form passte hervorragend zu der sachlichen Architektur und
verkörperte einen ganz neuen Einrichtungsstil. Transparenz und
Funktionalität kennzeichnen alle Entwürfe dieser Zeit. Die bedeutendste ”Erfindung” war die des Freischwingers, der als eine der
wichtigsten Design-Innovationen des 20. Jahrhunderts gilt. Erst das neue Material, kalt
gebogenes Stahlrohr, machte den Effekt des
freien Schwingens und damit den hohen
Komfort möglich. Thonet hatte sich bereits
früh für die neue Technologie interessiert und
entwickelte sich in den 1930er Jahren zum
größten Produzenten von Stahlrohrmöbeln.
Thonet ist nach wie vor in Familienbesitz, heute ist die 5. Generation verantwortlich für das Unternehmen. Gefertigt werden Klassiker aus Bugholz und Stahlrohr sowie neue Modelle, die gemeinsam mit bekannten Architekten und Designern wie Delphin Design,
Stefan Diez, Norman Forster, Naoto Fukasawa, James Irvine, Lepper
Schmidt Sommerlade, Glen Oliver Löw u.a. entstehen. Thonet hat ein
weltweites Vertriebsnetz.
Die Werkbund-Ausstellung ”Die Wohnung” in der WeißenhofSiedlung in Stuttgart 1927 demonstrierte Lösungen für das Neue
Wohnen. Hier wurden der Öffentlichkeit erstmals Stahlrohrmöbel
präsentiert. Bei der Vorbereitung zeigte der junge Mart Stam seine
Idee des hinterbeinlosen Stuhls Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Mart Stams erster Entwurf verzichtete
auf die Hinterbeine, federte aber noch
nicht. Mies van der Rohe setzte die Idee
bei seinem Sessel S 533 um, 1929
präsentierte Breuer seinen Stuhl S 32.
Mart Stam wurde später das Künstlerische Urheberrecht für die kubische
Form des Freischwingers zugesprochen.
Diese Rechte liegen bei Thonet.
Bauhaus-Lehrer und vom Bauhaus beeinflusste Gestalter
waren maßgeblich an der Entwicklung der Stahlrohrmöbel beteiligt, darunter Mart Stam, Marcel Breuer und Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe sowie Architekten wie Le Corbusier oder Hans und Wassili
Luckhardt. Der Einsatz von Stahlrohr stand im Zusammenhang mit
dem Willen zu einem Aufbruch in die Moderne, der sich auch
in einem verstärkten Interesse an industriellen Prozessen und
Materialien und im Konzept des Neuen Bauens manifestierte.
www.thonet.eu
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Banner: 6 motifs on textile print with mounting mechanism are available.
Format 200 x 80 cm; they can be hung from the ceiling freely in the space or
on the walls.
Thonet film: Please visit the following link for downloading the Thonet film:
http://mediendatenbank.thonet.de
07.09.2009 14:24:56 Uhr
RAUM FÜR HÄNDLEREINDRUCK
Communication tools
Stahlrohr
Möbel
Klassiker
AU SSTELLU N G
Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe
Mart Stam
Marcel Breuer
Die Ausstellung zeigt die
A US S T E L L UNG
Stahlrohr
Möbel
Klassiker
Ikonen der Stahlrohrmöbel
aus den 1920/30er Jahren
Mart Stam
Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe
Marcel Breuer
und informiert über die
Geschichte ihrer Entstehung. Die Entwicklung der Stahlrohrmöbel gilt als Meilenstein in der Geschichte des modernen
Möbels. Die bedeutendste Erfindung war die des Freischwingers, der als eine der wichtigsten
Design-Innovationen des 20. Jahrhunderts gilt. Bauhaus-Lehrer und von Bauhaus beeinflusste
Gestalter waren maßgeblich an der Entwicklung beteiligt. Thonet produziert die Entwürfe seit
ihrer Entstehung, sie alle zählen zu den Klassikern der Möbelgeschichte.
RAUM FÜR HÄNDLEREINDRUCK
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alte Eindru
tzh
Pla eten Einladung
r ein stalt r.
t nu lbstge partne
s is
Die den se andels
Wir präsentieren die Ausstellung vom 13. August bis zum 3. September 2009 in unserem
für Fachh
Showroom.
der
Zur Eröffnung am 12. August um 19 Uhr laden wir Sie herzlich ein. Peter Thonet wird mit dabei
sein.
Wir freuen uns auf Ihren Besuch!
MODUS Möbel
Zur Anmeldung nutzen Sie bitte das Faxformular oder senden Sie ein Email an [email protected]
Invitation card: 4-page folding card in DIN long format (210 x 105 mm).
Individual invitation cards and possibly fax response letters can be printed on
separate sheets and supplemented into the card. Templates available for download at www.thonet.eu/service.
Stahlrohr
Möbel
Klassiker
Die Ausstellung zeigt die Ikonen der Stahlrohrmöbel aus den 1920/30er Jahren und
informiert über die Geschichte ihrer Entstehung.
RAUM FÜR HÄNDLEREINDRUCK
Advertisements: B/W and 4-color templates in formats 2- and 3-column (90 and
135 mm wide). Exhibition data and partner name are added in the empty field.
Template available for download at www.thonet.eu/service.
Press materials: Text see attachment, note about the on-site partner can be
added in the last paragraph.
Information/Training documents
All texts also available for download at www.thonet.eu/service.
History
Thonet history
The development of tubular steel furniture during the
1920s/1930s is considered a milestone in the history of
modern furniture. Its clear form excellently matched the
objective architecture and embodied an entirely new interior
design style. Transparency and functionality characterize all
designs from this era. The most important „invention“ was
the cantilever chair, which is considered one of the most
essential design innovations of the 20th century. The new
material – cold-bent tubular steel – enabled the springy effect and thus provided high comfort. Thonet was interested in
the new technology early on and became the biggest producer
of tubular steel furniture during the 1930s.
Thonet – A pioneer of industrial design. With the invention of bentwood furniture and its production following the
modular principle, Michael Thonet laid the cornerstone for
industrial furniture production. He was born in 1796 in
Boppard on the River Rhine and opened his own workshop
there in 1819. In 1842 Duke Metternich called him to Vienna.
Together with his sons, he established a company in 1849
that was globally successful within a short period of time
and quickly expanded. More than 865,000 bentwood chairs
per year were produced in factories located in today‘s Czech
Republic, Hungary, and Russia. Michael Thonet died in 1871
in Vienna; his sons continued to run the company. During the
1930s Thonet committed itself to the construction of tubular
steel furniture and quickly became the world‘s largest
manufacturer. In addition to designs by architects, numerous in-house models were produced. World War II triggered a
sharp halt to production; the facilities in the eastern regions
were dispossessed. The factory in Frankenberg (Germany),
established in 1889, has been the head office and production site since then. Thonet continues to be family-owned;
today, the fifth generation of Thonets is responsible for the
company. Bentwood and tubular steel classics are produced,
as are new models developed in cooperation with famous
architects and designers such as Claudio Bellini, Delphin
Design, Stefan Diez, Naoto Fukasawa, Hadi Teherani, James
Irvine, Lepper Schmidt Sommerlade, Glen Oliver Löw, and
others. Thonet has a global distribution network.
Bauhaus teachers and designers influenced by the Bauhaus played a decisive role in the development of tubular
steel furniture, among them Mart Stam, Marcel Breuer, and
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe as well as architects such as
Le Corbusier and Hans and Wassili Luckhardt. The use of
tubular steel was connected with the will to move towards
modernism, which also became manifest in an increased interest in industrial processes and materials and the concept
of the New Building.
The Werkbund exhibition „The Dwelling“ at the Weissenhof
Siedlung in Stuttgart 1927 demonstrated solutions for the
new way of living. Here, tubular steel furniture was presented
to the public for the first time. During the preparations, a
young Mart Stam showed his idea of the chair without rear
legs to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Stam‘s first design dispensed with the rear legs but did not yet rock. Mies van der
Rohe realized the idea in his armchair S 533, and Breuer presented his chair S 32 in 1929. Mart Stam later was awarded
the artistic copyright for the cubic form of the cantilever
chair. Today, Thonet owns these rights.
Mart Stam, born in 1899 in Purmerend
in the Netherlands, was one of the most
important architects of modernism and
a pioneer of modern furniture design. In
1927 he made a sensational contribution
to the Weißenhof-Siedlung in Stuttgart
as an architect and as designer experimenting with tubular
steel. In 1928 and 1929 he worked as an architect in
Frankfurt/Main and a guest lecturer at the Bauhaus Dessau,
where he gave lectures about elementary architecture and
urbanism. From 1930 until 1934 Mart Stam worked in Russia
and other countries; afterwards, he worked as an architect
in Amsterdam until 1948. In 1939 he took over the direction
of the Academy of Arts & Crafts in Amsterdam. In 1950 he
became director of the University of Applied Art in BerlinWeißensee. In 1953 he returned to Amsterdam. In 1977 he
moved to Switzerland, where he died in 1896 in Goldbach.
Chair S 33 / S 34 (1926)
Starting in 1925, Mart Stam began experimenting with
standard gas pipe, which he connected using standard pipe
joint fittings; from this he developed the principle of the
cantilever chair, a chair that for the first time in furniture
history no longer required four legs. He created a construction
principle, which – in connection with the formally reserved
design demanded by the Bauhaus and modern architectural
theory – became an important building block in the history of
modern furniture design. In the beginning, Stam did not care
about the springy effect of the cold-bent tubular steel but
about the no-frills form, which could be perfectly integrated
in the modern buildings of the era. The chairs S 33 (without
armrests) and S 34 (with armrests) were the first cantilever
chairs. They were used in 1927 in the Weißenhof-Siedlung in
Stuttgart. Thonet has been producing them since that time.
Chair S 43 (1931)
For all of his designs from this era, Mart Stam banked on
straightforward forms, aesthetic economy of design, and
sitting comfort that would enhance use. In the case of the
chair S 43, he combined the tubular steel frame with molded
plywood shells for seat and backrest. The comfortable springy
effect made upholstery unnecessary. Its clear, reserved form
makes this cantilever chair an exemplary design in the spirit
of modernism. The technological innovation of cold-bent
tubular steel inspired other designers to come up with further
developments. A long dispute over patents and copyrights
ensued. Mart Stam was awarded the artistic copyright for
his strictly cubic chair without rear legs. Today, Thonet owns
these rights.
Special edition at the occasion of 90 years of Bauhaus
To commemorate the 90th Bauhaus anniversary, Thonet is
producing this classic in a variety of colors.
Chair S 40 (1935)
These chairs were presented for the first time in the Thonet
catalog from 1935 under the model name B 33 g (= garden),
also as a stackable version. In their construction and design,
they are based on the chair S 43. Today, they are produced in
a weather-resistant version with a stainless steel frame and
slats made of solid Iroko wood.
Marcel Breuer, was born in 1902 in Pécs,
Hungary. After giving up his study of art,
he studied at the Staatliches Bauhaus
Weimar from 1920 until 1924. From 1925
until 1928 he took over the management
of the joiner’s workshop at the Bauhaus,
which meanwhile had moved to Dessau. During this time
he was strongly influenced by constructivism and De Stijl
and developed some trend-setting tubular steel furniture
designs. In 1928 Breuer moved to Berlin, where he worked
in the interior design segment. Starting in 1931 he went on
a number of journeys before beginning work on several aluminium furniture designs in Switzerland starting in 1932. In
1935 Marcel Breuer moved to London, where he worked as an
architect. In 1937 he received a professorship in architecture
at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA and
later opened an architectural office there with Walter Gropius.
In 1946 Marcel Breuer established his own studio in New York
and realized numerous designs in Europe and the USA. He is
considered one of the most important architects and designers of modernism. Marcel Breuer died in 1981 in New York.
Chairs S 32/S 64 (1929/30)
These designs are probably the most famous and most often
produced tubular steel classics. Their most important feature
is the matured constructive form and ingenious aesthetic
combination of tubular steel, wood, and wicker. The design
goes back to1928-1931, Breuer’s highly productive years
during which, after leaving the Bauhaus, he worked independently as an architect and interior designer and realized a
series of fantastic interiors and designed numerous pieces of
furniture.
Desk S 285 (1935)
The tubular steel desk is a successful example of the programmatic goal of the Bauhaus to combine art and technology in a formal unity. The tabletop and storage elements
made of painted or stained wood harmonically blend in with
the tubular steel design. The supporting frame is a line in
which the wooden elements seem to float. The simple piece of
furniture, formally balanced in its proportions, represents an
expressive piece of contemporary history known as “The New
Objectivity.”
Side tables B 9 and other side furniture (1925/26)
During his time at the Bauhaus, Marcel Breuer experimented
with steel and tubular steel by logically transferring the
principles of making furniture in a way appropriate for the
materials from wood to this new material. The proximity to
the Junkers factory in Dessau was of enormous benefit for
facilitating this process. Among his first designs are the side
tables B 9 as well as shelves and side furniture. The 1930/31
Thonet catalog included the complete program range. B 9
was used in the cafeteria of Walter Gropius’ Bauhaus building.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, born in 1886
in Aachen, joined the architectural office
of Peter Behrens at the age of 22, where
he met Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier.
Soon, Mies van der Rohe became a protagonist of the era’s innovative glass
and steel skeleton architecture – his design of a steel and
glass high-rise building at the Bahnhof Friedrichstraße in
Berlin was pivotal. Starting 1925, he was the art director of
the Deutscher Werkbund. In 1927, under his direction, the
Weißenhof-Siedlung in Stuttgart was constructed. In 1930,
Mies van der Rohe was appointed director of the Bauhaus
in Dessau, which he had to close on August 10, 1933 under
the pressure of the NSDAP. After that, he immigrated to
the United States. In 1938, he moved to Chicago, where he
became director of the architecture department at Armour
Institute. He became one of the most influential architects in
the world. His steel skeleton buildings with large-scale plate
glass windows such as the Seagram Building in New York
(1958) and the National Gallery in Berlin (1968) are among
the highlights of modern architecture. His furniture designs
were often connected to his buildings. Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe died in Chicago in 1969.
Stuhl S 533 (1927)
The deliberate restriction of materials, the elegance of the
lines and the transparency of the effect are the characteristic
features of S 533. It owes its special comfort to the durable,
flexible rocking ability. This effect is the result of Mies van
der Rohe’s designing the front part of the tubular steel frame
as a large arch made of tubular steel. During the preparations for the Weißenhof-Siedlung, Mart Stam presented his
idea of the cantilever chair to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Stam was primarily concerned with the reduced cubic form,
and his first design did not rock. Mies van der Rohe used the
technology of cold-bent tubular steel with its flexible properties and developed his elegant design. Both Stam’s model
and Mies van der Rohe’s model were presented in 1927 in the
Weißenhof-Siedlung.
Thonet. With the invention of bentwood
furniture and its production in a modular
principle, Michael Thonet laid the cornerstone for industrial furniture production.
He was born in 1796 in Boppard on the
River Rhine and opened his own workshop there in 1819. In 1842 Duke Metternich called him to
Vienna. Together with his sons, he established a company
in 1849 that was globally successful within a short period
of time and quickly expanded. More than 865,000 bentwood
chairs per year were produced in factories located in today’s
Czech Republic, Hungary, and Russia. Michael Thonet died
in 1871 in Vienna; his son continued to run the company.
During the 1930s Thonet committed itself to the construction of tubular steel furniture and quickly became the world’s
largest manufacturer. In addition to designs by architects,
numerous in-house models were produced. From the time of
their creation to the present, Thonet has been producing a
comprehensive tubular steel furniture program range, all of
which are classics of furniture history.
Chair S 411 (1932)
The outstanding properties of this chair are elegance,
timelessness, and a high level of sitting comfort. Added is
a lightness that only a cantilever model can have. While the
first tubular steel chairs rarely had upholstered cushions, an
entire series of voluminously upholstered chairs and sofas
was already included in the 1935 catalog. The internal Thonet design of S 411 probably marks the beginning of a new
product series. Today, the cushions are available with leather,
fabric, or cowhide upholstery.
Side furniture (1930/31 – 1934)
Since the development of tubular steel furniture, side furniture has formed an enormous part of the program. In addition
to the first designs by Marcel Breuer, Thonet has realized
many in-house designs. For example, the sophisticated folding table B 109, which can be easily turned into a console
(1930/31), the console B 108 with storage shelves (1930/31),
the set tables B 97 with an open side that can be pushed
over the edge of a bed or sofa (1933), and B 117, a simple
side table with a drawer (1934).
Press release
Exhibition Thonet tubular steel furniture classics in XXX:
How the Bauhaus revolutionized furniture as well.
In cooperation with XXX
(address, period)
This exhibition presents an important and interesting epoch in the history of modern furniture: the development of tubular
steel furniture and, coupled with that, the invention of the cantilever chair during the 1920s/1930s. The legendary tubular
steel furniture of the Bauhaus teachers, which Thonet has been producing ever since, is on display. Among them are classics
by Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Since the Bauhaus anniversary in 2009, the tubular steel cantilever chair
S 43 by Mart Stam is being produced with new, fresh colors.
The development of tubular steel furniture is considered a milestone in the history of modern furniture. The most important
„invention“ of those years was the cantilever chair, which is considered one of the most important design innovations of the 20th
century. Only the new material – cold-bent tubular steel – enabled the springy effect and thus the high level of comfort. Bauhaus
teachers and designers influenced by the Bauhaus played a decisive role in the development, among them Mart Stam, Marcel
Breuer, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, as well as architects such as Le Corbusier and Hans and Wassili Luckhardt. The use of
tubular steel was connected with the will for departure into modernism. Thonet had already adopted the entirely new production
technology at the end of the 1920s. During the 1930s, Thonet was the biggest manufacturer of tubular steel furniture worldwide.
Since the foundation of the company in 1819, Thonet has stood for the development of furniture that banks on simplicity, a
reduction of form to the essentials, a loyalty to materials and value. Today, the fifth generation of Thonets, the brothers Peter and
Philipp Thonet manage the internationally renowned company from the corporate offices and production site in Frankenberg/Eder.
In addition to the tubular steel classics, XXX also presents other current Thonet models and combines them with new products
by various young designers and other manufacturers. This exhibition is an exciting collage of tubular steel classics and current
products.
(Abbildungen: Freisteller S 43, S 32, S 533, S 411 + S 43 Freisteller in Farben + Portraits)
Thonet GmbH, Michael-Thonet-Straße 1, 35066 Frankenberg/Eder, Phone +49 6451/508-119, [email protected], www.thonet.eu