Drawing on the past but not getting lost in it, the Gebrüder Thonet Vienna group has a 160 year history of innovation working with the world's best designers and a palette of materials transformed through pure craftsmanship and ingenuity.
Since the early 1800s Thonet has produced handcrafted timber furniture built on the traditions of carpentry, cane and bentwood furniture. Back in 1819, founder Michael Thonet created the first bentwood techniques, long before modernist designers including Alvar Aalto and Ray and Charles Eames were experimenting with techniques for steaming their own timber chairs. Thonet’s break came after an encounter with one of the most influential men in Europe. Prince Klemens von Metternich, Chancellor of the Austro-Hungarian empire and Prime Minister to Emperor Franz Josef, would become an admirer of his elegantly simple designs. Thonet was invited to Vienna and awarded a sought-after patent for his bentwood process along with the commission to furnish the Liechtenstein Palace.
By 1853 Gebrüder Thonet (Brothers Thonet) included Michael Thonet and his five sons. Their production techniques and glowing international reputation brought Viennese architects including Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos onboard adding further depth to the brand. A split in 1976 would see the Thonet company divided into two groups, Thonet GmbH located to Germany and Gebrüder Thonet Vienna (GTV) remained in Austria, where more than 160 years later the company's role in the progression of industrial design continues to invigorate craft through design innovation.
The crafted collection of bentwood pieces by GTV includes the Targa Sofa by Gam Fratesi, the N.200 armchair by Michael Anastassiades, the Arch Coffee Table by Front, and the MOS family of storage units by Gam Fratesi. Photo c/o GTV.
Thonet traditions have developed through a growing collection of chairs, tables, sofas and storage units in collaboration with a growing list of international designers. From Cristina Celestino and Chiara Andreatti, to Swedish studio Front, Michael Anastassiades, Gam Fratesi, Lucidi Pevere, Martino Gamper, Philippe Nigro, and Storagemilano, designers are given the freedom to explore the possibilities of materials and processes with the R&D team and the results are fresh and surprising.
Working with Front embodied the restrained yet quirky approach of the Swedish designers who have penned designs including Furia, a rocking horse for kids, and a collection for grownups that includes the Hideout Lounge Chair, the Arch Coffee Table and the Coat Rack Bench. Their exploration of wood and cane brings together both whimsy and a classical eye and took out a 2017 Wallpaper* Design Award for the innovative use of wood.
The NYNY collection adopts GTV’s archetype bentwood and woven cane but draws inspiration from the Memphis movement and the graphic playfulness of the 1980s. Photos c/o GTV.
Designers Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi bring together the traditions of classic Danish design with an Italian conceptual approach seen in the MOS collection of artful pieces. Photo c/o GTV.
Detail sketches of the MOS collection by Gam Fratesi. Photo c/o GTV.
Designers Enrico Fratesi and Stine Gam . Portrait c/o GTV.
Detail sketches of the MOS collection by Gam Fratesi. Photo c/o GTV.
The MOS console by Gam Fratesi for GTV. Photos c/o GTV.
The MOS side table by Gam Fratesi for GTV. Photo c/o GTV.
NYNY designers Storagemilano, the Milan group of architects who include Michele Pasini, Barbara Ghidoni and Marco Donati. Portrait c/o GTV.
The MOS multipurpose bench by Gam Fratesi for GTV. Photos c/o GTV.
“Experimenting with unusual or different materials, with light and space, attention to detail and elegance are what surround and inspire us today.”
Barbara Ghidoni, Marco Donati and Michele Pasini, Storagemilano
Designers Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi bring together the traditions of classic Danish design with an Italian conceptual approach. Their studio Gam Fratesi designed the Morris chairs and armchairs, the Targa Modular Sofa that won an Archiproducts Design Award, and most recently the MOS family of storage units illustrating their design process and the craft techniques that embody the collection.
“Experimenting with unusual or different materials, with light and space, attention to detail and elegance are what surround and inspire us today,” says Storagemilano, the Milan group of architects who include Barbara Ghidoni, Marco Donati and Michele Pasini. Describing NYNY as “distinctively asserting its modernity”, the collection adopts GTV’s archetype bentwood and woven cane but draws inspiration from the Memphis movement and the strong graphic playfulness of the 80s. While its reference to architecture is also clear. "The play of volumes in NYNY is in fact a tribute to the New Museum of Contemporary Art in Nolita", remarks GTV. "A building that expresses the archetypal forms of the ziggurat". It is this conceptual strength that brings vibrancy to the craft developed within GTV's research department, and draws contemporary designers from around the world to reconnect with the traditional roots of design.
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna is available exclusively in South East Asia from Space - Australia and Space - Singapore.
