The Atlas of Furniture Design

Product Information

The editors working on it had direct access to the physical objects and had them re-photographed for the collection. The furniture collection of the Vitra Design Museum comprises more than 20,000 artefacts, around 7000 of which are pieces of furniture. The first step was to illustrate the major trends in furniture design from the early nineteenth century to the present. The Atlas of Furniture Design is an indispensable resource for collectors, scholars and experts, as well as a beautifully designed object that speaks to design enthusiasts. This was intended as a gift but as a result of the labels I had to give the book minus its presentation case as could not remove the labels without damaging it.

With more than 1,000 pages, the »Atlas« will be the most extensive book ever to be published on the topic. To date, no other book has analyzed and documented the history of furniture design with such a comprehensive and scientific approach. It includes early industrial furniture in bentwood or metal, Art Nouveau and Secessionist pieces, protagonists of classical modernism like Le Corbusier, Gerrit Rietveld, Charlotte Perriand or Marcel Breuer, postwar figures such as Finn Juhl, Gilbert Rohde, Pierre Paulin or Gae Aulenti but also postmodern and contemporary designers like Philippe Starck, Marcel Wanders or Konstantin Grcic. You not only have detailed texts on individual objects, but also essays, glossaries of manufacturers and materials, biographies and of course – something no such encyclopedia should be without – detailed infographics, including various timelines on the development of design worldwide or the evolution of ground-breaking furniture types such as the cantilever chair or the Monobloc.The basis for the Atlas of Furniture Design is the collection held by the Vitra Design Museum, one of the largest of its kind with more than 7000 works.

It documents 1,740 objects by over 540 designers, and features more than 2,800 illustrations, from object photographs to design sketches and interiors as well as patents, brochures, art, architecture, and portraits of the designers. Last but not least, in addition to the well-known pieces, we wanted to include some surprises and particularly highlight the objects that have become a part of many people’s everyday lives. The publication includes works by the most significant designers of the past 230 years and documents all important stages of design history. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. The book touches on a range of subjects spanning the beginnings of industrialization to digitalization, which is becoming increasingly influential in contemporary furniture design.In 2019, the Vitra Design Museum will publish the Atlas of Furniture Design , the definitive, encyclopedic overview of the history of modern furniture design. With more than 1,000 pages, the »Atlas« is the most extensive book ever to be published on the topic. The great classics were a must, along with explanations about certain materials, structural forms and typologies. In-depth essays provide sociocultural and design-historical context to four historical epochs of furniture design and the pieces highlighted here, enriched by a detailed annex containing designer biographies, glossaries, and elaborate information graphics. The Vitra Design Museum’s »Atlas of Furniture Design« is a new and essential work on the history of modern furniture design.