Archinect - News

Eames' radical plywood radio from 1946 to be reissued by Vitra

2018-09-21T12:57:00-04:00

Better known for their iconic lounge chairs, the mid-century designers Charles and Ray Eames spent a good portion of the post-war period applying their revolutionizing plywood-modeling process to radio housings. Dubbed "Design's Best-Kept Secret" by the Wall Street Journal, an estimated 200,000 of these radios were manufactured at the time and are now enjoying an afterlife on the auction circuit as a more affordable way of owning one of the couples masterful designs.

Eames Radio by Charles and Ray Eames reissued by Vitra.

One of these radios, however, considered too modern looking for the time, never saw production. That is now changing thanks to Vitra; the Swiss furniture company that owns the license to many of the Eames's work has decided to revive this compact radio. Limited to just 999 units, the reissued radio comes encased in a walnut cabinet and equipped with up-to-date technology by the British manufacturer REVO. Priced at $999, the radio does not come cheap, especially whe...

Bliss out to this tranquil video of an Eames Lounge Chair being assembled by hand

2016-10-11T14:16:00-04:00

It's like the furniture version of ASMR. This short video from Vitra shows the materials of an Eames Lounge Chair coming together:

Mores Eames on Archinect:

Herzog & De Meuron's Schaudepot opens at the Vitra Campus

2016-06-03T20:42:00-04:00

Hidden for decades until today, the extensive collection of Vitra—one of the most influential names in modern furniture design—is now on public display in a brand new building designed by Herzog & de Meuron: Schaudepot.

As the latest addition to the Vitra campus, Schaudepot’s front yard connects it to its neighbors, Zaha Hadid’s Fire Station and Álvaro Siza’s factory buildings. From the front, it appears monolithic and earthen, its brick exterior and windowless facade giving away little of the impressive collection of over 20,000 objects inside. In addition to serving as a conservational space for “key objects” in Vitra’s collection, Schaudepot also includes a new cafe and shop, both accessible by the building’s south end through a new public entry point into the campus.

Inside, a window between the main hall and lower ground (where the collection resides) allows visitors to sneak a peek of repository, and its crowning jewel: “The centrepiece of the Schaudepot is a permanent exhibitio...

Luis Barragán Homage Tweaks Vitra, the Copyright Owners

2013-11-04T12:16:00-05:00

After passing to the widow of Barragán’s business partner, it was sold in 1994 to a wealthy Swiss couple, Rolf Fehlbaum, chairman of Vitra, the international furniture company and design museum, and the woman who was to become his wife, Federica Zanco, an architectural scholar. In the years since, Ms. Zanco has devoted her life to promoting Barragán’s legacy. But her determination to keep the archive at Vitra headquarters near Basel has rankled many in Mexico...

Vitra | Diogene: A cabin designed by Renzo Piano and RPBW for Vitra

2013-06-14T15:41:00-04:00

In June 2013, a further element will be introduced on the Vitra Campus. On a hill between the VitraHaus and the Dome, the Italian architect Renzo Piano and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) has developed “Diogene”, which to date is Vitra’s smallest building ― but largest product.