Marcel Breuer

Architect

Londra / United Kingdom

One of the most important 20th-century architects and designers, Marcel Breuer (Pécs, Hungary, 1902 - New York, 1981) is considered one of the fathers of the Modern Movement. When he was only 18, he entered the newly founded Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany. In the carpentry workshop directed by Walter Gropius, he had the opportunity to meet leading figures of the avant-garde movement, including Josef Albers, Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, who played a crucial role in Breuer's formation along with Gropius himself, who involved him in his projects as early as 1921. These included the Sommerfeld House in Berlin and two prototypes for wooden chairs, the African Chair and the Slatted Chair, made by Breuer under the supervision of the master, gaining a certain success. After his training and a brief stay in Paris, Breuer returned to the Bauhaus to take over the direction of the carpentry workshop.

While he was involved in designing the furniture for the new headquarters in Dessau and buildings for the younger students, he began to experiment with tubular steel, apparently inspired by the structure of his new Adler bicycle. In 1929, he drew up the design for his most famous work, the B3 chair, better known as the Wassily chair. The structure is in tubular chrome-plated steel shaped into a single continuous and fluid line without joints or interruptions. The backrest, seat and armrests are made of eisengarn, an innovative fabric made rigid and resistant by applying wax and kerosene. Initially produced by the Standard-Möbel Lengyel company, founded by Breuer himself with his colleague Kálmán Lengyel, the chair passed to the Viennese Thonet, which bought out the company in 1929. Later produced by Gavina, this icon of design is now included in the Knoll catalogue.

After brief stints in Berlin and London, he settled in the United States, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he taught architecture at Harvard and founded an office with his mentor Walter Gropius. In 1946, he moved to New York, where he remained for the rest of his days. His career was divided between architectural and product design, reaching its peak in the 1950s and '60s, with such major projects as the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, in collaboration with Pier Luigi Nervi (1952). However, Breuer's fame remains linked primarily to his tubular steel furniture, iconic pieces that have never ceased production since their appearance in the 1920s and 30s. After various transfers of rights, today Breuer's furniture can be found in the catalogues of Knoll, (the aforementioned Wassily chair, and the famous embossed 1928 Cesca™ chair), and Thonet, which, in addition to its chairs, offers the S 285 desk collection (1935) and the S35 armchair and footstool collection (1929). He was the subject of the first monographic architecture exhibition organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1975. Marcel Breuer retired the following year, bestowed with numerous awards and recognitions. He died at his home on East 63d Street in Manhattan in 1981.

Products designed by Marcel Breuer

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Marcel Breuer

Architect

Londra / United Kingdom

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Products designed by Marcel Breuer

S 64 P SERIOUS - Cantilever chair in steel and leather

B 97 SET NORDIC - Square stackable coffee table

KNOLL - CESCA™ - Cantilever Vienna straw chair

CESCA™ - Cantilever Vienna straw stool

S 35 LH - Tanned leather footstool

S 285/1 - Rectangular writing desk with drawers

S 64 V NORDIC - Cantilever chair in steel and cane

S 64 P NORDIC - Cantilever chair in steel and leather

S 64 V SERIOUS - Cantilever chair in steel and cane

B 97 SET SERIOUS - Stackable Nero Marquina marble coffee table

B 97 SET SERIOUS - Square stackable coffee table

WASSILY CHAIR - Leather easy chair with armrests

KNOLL - CESCA™ - Cantilever Vienna straw chair

CESCA™ - Cantilever chair

S 32 V - Cantilever chair with supporting synthetic mesh

CESCA™ - Cantilever Vienna straw chair

S 32 VL - Cantilever wicker easy chair

S 64 V - Cantilever chair with supporting synthetic mesh

WASSILY CHAIR - Canvas easy chair with armrests

CESCA™ - Cantilever upholstered fabric chair

DELFI - Rectangular marble living room table

S 285 - Rectangular writing desk with drawers

CESCA™ - Cantilever Vienna straw chair with armrests

S 32 PV - Cantilever upholstered chair

CESCA™ - Cantilever upholstered fabric chair with armrests

S 64 VDR - Swivel wicker chair with castors

S 35 LV - Sled base cowhide armchair with armrests

CESCA™ - Cantilever chair with armrests

S 32 SPV - Cantilever chair with canework backrest and plywood seat

CESCA™ - Cantilever stool

S 35 L - Sled base leather armchair with armrests

LACCIO - Rectangular laminate side table

S 285/2 - Rectangular writing desk with drawers

LACCIO - Rectangular laminate side table

LACCIO - Rectangular marble coffee table

B 9 - Glass and steel coffee table

S 285/0 - Rectangular writing desk

S 64 V Pure Materials - Cantilever chair with armrests

B 22 A - Open bookcase

CESCA™ - Cantilever stool

S 64 PVDR - Upholstered leather chair with armrests

S 32 SPVN - Cantilever upholstered mesh chair

S 64 SPV - Cantilever chair with armrests with canework backrest

S 32 N - Cantilever mesh chair

S 32 PVL - Cantilever leather easy chair

B 10/1 - Rectangular low coffee table with integrated magazine rack

S 32 VH - High cantilever stool with footrest

S 32 NL - Cantilever steel easy chair

B 9 Thonet Pure Materials - Steel and wood side table

S 32 SPVH - Cantilever upholstered stool with canework backrest

S 32 SPVL - Cantilever steel easy chair with padded seat

B 9 - MDF side table

MINIATURES B3 WASSILY - Wooden miniature

S 285/5 - Rectangular writing desk with drawers

B 10 - Rectangular coffee table for living room

S 64 N - Cantilever mesh chair with armrests

B 20 A/1 - B 20 B/1 - Rectangular coffee table with integrated magazine rack

S 35 N Thonet All Seasons - Mesh easy chair

S 35 NH Thonet All Seasons cushion - Fabric footstool

S 32 SPVNHT - Cantilever upholstered mesh stool

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