30.03.2020 Theresa Mörtl

Better Living, Better Life

Foto: Verner Panton Design AG, Basel

Looking back a century, debates on social background and affordable housing were particularly influential. Parallel to that discourse, Adolf Loos and Mies van der Rohe revolutionized traditional spatial planning with their innovative designs. Addressing the three-dimensionality of space they introduced the concept of open floor plans. ­After the First World War, this ­experimental approach to design was embraced by the furniture industry. Avant-garde trends not only informed the latest materials and household appliances, but also laid the groundwork for the developments in interior design that followed from the 1960s to 1980s.
The influence of postmodernism led to radical breaks in tradition and individual furniture pieces took on special meaning and symbolism. These developments led to Andy Warhol’s loft living trend and George Candilis’s modular Hexacube, which sparked ideas on modular and mobile living Perhaps the most striking change in the furniture industry has been brought about by the advent of Ikea.  The multinational furniture company has redefined people’s understanding of living space and transformed furniture into a short-lived consumer good. To this day, the company’s concept continues to meet the demands of consumer society in terms of both individualization and the constant desire for change.
Under the persisting influence of social platforms such as Airbnb, Instagram and Pinterest, we are seduced – or rather summoned – to repeatedly change the scenery inside our own living zone. Interior design is faced with new challenges brought on by the commercialization of living space as well as ever-smaller floor plans and increasing demands for functionality. Ultimately, a look back into the history of interior design confronts us with the question: How do we want to live?

Finn Juhl, Chieftain Chair, 1949 © Vitra Design Museum, Photo: Jürgen HANS

Brandlhuber+ Emde, Burlon, Antivilla, Krampnitz, Germany, 2010–15 Photo: Erica Overmeer / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020

Noritaka Minami, A504 I (Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo, Japan), 2012 © Noritaka Minami

Lina Bo Bardi, Casa de Vidro, São Paulo, Brasil, 1952 © Nelson Kon, 2002

Lina Bo Bardi, Casa de Vidro, São Paulo, Brazil, 1952 © Instituto Bardi / Casa de Vidro Photo: Francisco Albuquerque

Marie Jacotey, Granby N48 (drawing of the housing project Granby Four Streets by Assemble, Liverpool, UK, 2013-today), 2016 © Marie Jacotey and Hannah Barry Gallery, London

Finn Juhl, Lageplan seines Hauses in Ordrup (with planned extension), Danmark, 1968 © Designmuseum Danmark, Photo: Pernille Klemp

Michael Graves, Reinhold Apartment, New York, USA, 1979-81 © Peter Aaron / OTTO

Alison and Peter Smithson, House of the future, 1956 © Daily Mail

ARP (Atelier de Recherche Plastique), Coquetier Armchair, c. 1954/55 © Vitra Design Museum, Photo: Jürgen HANS

Verner Panton, Fantasy landscape of the exhibition Visiona 2, Cologne, Germany, 1970 © Verner Panton Design AG, Basel

Karl Lagerfeld’s Monte Carlo Apartment (with designs of Memphis), Monaco, 1982 © Jacques Schumacher

Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev debating at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Russia, 1959 © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS

elii [oficina de arquitectura], Yojigen Poketto Apartement (kitchenette and sleeping area) Madrid, Spain, 2017 Photo: Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero

IKEA, Catalogue cover, 1974 © Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Villa Tugendhat, Brno, Czech Republic, 1930 © Archive Štenc Praha / VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2020

Nat Finkelstein, Factory Panorama with Andy Warhol, New York City, USA c. 1965 © Nat Finkelstein Estate

Josef Frank, Villa Beer, Vienna, Austria, 1929-31 © MAK

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