VS

Modernism. Book recommendation

To the overview
vs_69627_15_700x400.jpg

Richard Neutra – Möbel | Furniture

Best known for his light-flooded houses, Austrian-American architect Richard J. Neutra (1892–1970) shaped the scene of California Modernism. From there he rose to become one of the most influential names in the history of modern architecture, but in contrast to his peers—like the great Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer, Arne Jacobsen and Jean Prouvé—Neutra’s work on furniture designs has long been undiscovered.

vs_69577_15_700x400.jpg

Modern building historian and Neutra specialist Barbara Lamprecht fills this gap with Richard Neutra: Furniture, studying Neutra’s furniture range, which, until recently, had been neglected until Dion Neutra, Neutra’s son and architectural partner, started work on the designs with German manufacturer VS. Referring to the original sketches and patent drawings, Lamprecht focuses on the details of the furniture designs, relating this element of the architect’s work to his overarching desire to create balanced environments for his clients, each element—furniture, lighting, nature and landscape and building—working together as a Gesamtwerk (a complete expression) to create a  “sensorium,” or a “soul anchorage,” as Neutra called those environments best suited to human well-being. This bilingual monograph is a must-have for those interested in modernist design and a crucial addition to existing scholarship.

vs_69578_15_700x400.jpg

Richard Neutra – Möbel | Furniture
Der Körper und die Sinne | The body and senses
Text: Barbara Lamprecht
Preface: Thomas Müller
Wasmuth, 2015
ISBN 978 3 8030 3217 1
19.80 €