The 20th and 21st century

Ernst Plischke, Josef Frank, Roland Reiner, Hans Hollein, Walter Pichler, mischer'traxler, Walking Chair and many other designers are included in the 20th and 21st Century Collection in the Vienna Furniture Museum.

One can use everything that can be used.

Josef Frank

After the end of the Monarchy, Vienna went its own way in furniture design. Josef Frank set his stamp on this ‘other Modern movement’ which foregrounded individuality, superior design and local traditions of craftsmanship. Comfort had primacy over formality or ostentatious display of wealth. On display at the Imperial Furniture Collection is a key work from this time, the Vienna apartment designed by Ernst Plischke for the ceramic artist Lucie Rie, a modern, open-plan space with ingenious built-in storage fittings.

In the post-Second World War era the focus was above all on reconstruction. Architects such as Roland Rainer designed economically priced furniture that almost everybody could afford. A typical example of the furniture of this time is the pastel-coloured kitchen, constructed from new, man-made materials.

In the 1960s renowned architect-designers such as Hans Hollein and Coop Himmelblau introduced a mood of innovation and new departures. Design blasted off into the space age, as evinced by the futuristic ‘Galaxy’ aluminium armchair, the brain-child of sculptor Walter Pichler.

Although the destination was not the moon, Austrian design after 2000 had the future firmly in its sights. New technical colleges, interesting syllabuses and highly qualified lecturers have ensured that today Austrian design is once again internationally renowned. The Vienna Furniture Museum provides a comprehensive panorama of contemporary Austrian design.

Bedroom in the Lucie Rie apartment, Ernst Plischke. Vienna, 1928

In planning the ceramicist Lucie Rie’s small apartment in Vienna, the architect Ernst Plischke made economical use of space, designing fitted units instead of free-standing cupboards in order to keep the layout as uncluttered as possible. The fact that it could be dismantled stood Rie in good stead when she emigrated to London, taking the furnishings with her, after the Anschluss in 1938.

Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. / Severin Wurnig

Living Room in the Lucie Rie apartment

Ernst Plischke

Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. / Severin Wurnig

Kitchen furnishings. 1950ies

These kitchen furnishings are still quite traditional in that they consist of separate pieces of furniture. However, they already feature the colourful Resopal® (laminate) surfaces that were commonly used for post-WW2 fitted kitchens. Intended to convey modernity and positivity, these pastel tones are also found on the popular ‘Lilienporzellan’ crockery of the time.

‘Idea of a Tree’ seating object, mischer'traxler. Vienna, 2011

Experimental furniture design based on resource-conserving production processes, dreamed up by designer duo Mischer‘Traxler: powered by solar electricity, a machine winds cotton thread soaked in dye and glue to form a tubular seating object, making its construction visible, like the growth rings of a tree. The result also varies according to the intensity of the light and length of the day.

Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Sweetwood EOOS chair

BMobV / Edgar Knaack

Chest of drawers by Josef Frank | Vienna, c. 1925

This chest of drawers is a typical example of Josef Frank’s light, formally diverse and detailed designs. He was a defining figure in the interwar period. Although influenced by Loos, he took an undogmatic approach to interior design, rejecting the concept of a dwelling as a ‘total work of art’. In exile in Sweden Frank continued to design for the famous Stockholm store Svenskt Tenn.

BMobV / Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. / Edgar Knaack

'Galaxy 1' 'armchair, Walter Pichler | Vienna, 1966

BMobV / Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. / Lois Lammerhuber

Armchair for the Wiener Stadthalle

by Roland Rainer, c. 1952

BMobV / Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. / Lois Lammerhuber

The 20th and 21st century

Highlights

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