Vitra Design Museum: Cardboard Furniture Workshops

In conjunction with the current exhibition “The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction” the Vitra Design Museum are running a series of summer workshops.

“The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction” deals, as the name implies, with “reduction” in design: principally the reasons for reduction in design – be they technical, aesthetic or philosophical.

Using this as the basis, the workshops encourage participants to think “reduced” and for all to create useful products from a, when not the, most basic material: cardboard.

Cardboard furniture is not new; however, cardboard as a material is so versatile that one can always reinvent how one utilises it.

Frank Gehry‘s Easy Edges series featuring, among other items, the Wiggle Side Chair and Wiggle Stool, is completely different products to say Stuart Millers “nameless” foldable cardboard chair.

And don’t even get us started on his monumental Red Beaver.

Just as with metal, wood or plastic, the limits with cardboard are less in the material pers se and more in the ability to solve problems and work with it correctly.

Would be Frank Gehry’s can test their skills at Vitra in Weil am Rhein on June 29 or August 14

In addition the Vitra Design Museum is offering workshops in jewellery design, paper collage as well as creating bags and lamps from recycled materials.

Full details and registration information can be found at http://www.design-museum.de

Red Beaver by Frank Gehry : Test your own cardboard furniture skills at the Vitra Design Museum