Atlas of Furniture Design

“The Atlas of Furniture Design is a treasure trove that offers not only definitive information about beloved staples of design history, but also new, fresh and often unexpected perspectives, all presented in a generous format that captures the breadth and depth of this important subject.” 
–Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art

In November 2019, the Vitra Design Museum published the Atlas of Furniture Design, the comprehensive overview on the history of modern furniture design. With more than 1,000 pages, the Atlas is the most extensive book ever to be published on the topic. It documents 1,740 objects by over 540 designers, and features more than 2,800 illustrations, from object photographs to design sketches and interiors as well as patents, brochures, art, architecture, and portraits of the designers. The Vitra Design Museum collection, which counts among the world’s largest of its kind with upwards of 20,000 objects, including over 7,000 pieces of furniture, serves as the basis for Atlas of Furniture Design. The publication includes works by the most significant designers of the past 230 years and documents all important stages of design history. This includes 19th century furniture made out of bentwood and metal, Art Nouveau and Secession style designs, iconic designs by protagonists of modernism such as Le Corbusier, Gerrit Rietveld, Charlotte Perriand, Marcel Breuer, and Eileen Gray, but also post-war, post-modern, and contemporary furniture by designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Gae Aulenti, Finn Juhl, Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, and Konstantin Grcic.

The Atlas of Furniture Design is the product of over 20 years of research at the Vitra Design Museum and was compiled by a team of more than 70 authors. It contains comprehensive essays on the socio-cultural and design-historical contexts of furniture design, over 550 detailed texts on pioneering objects, and numerous information graphics that provide new visual insights into the history of furniture design. Furthermore, the book contains a complete appendix that includes designer biographies, bibliographies, a glossary of producers and materials, as well as a keyword index. These features make this publication an encyclopedic reference guide and indispensable resource for collectors, scholars, and experts, and without a doubt a book to be treasured by design lovers all over the world.

Editors: Mateo Kries, Jochen Eisenbrand
Hardcover: 12 x 9 in / 23,5 x 31 cm
ISBN (GER): 978-3-931936-98-3
ISBN (EN): 978-3-931936-99-0
Available worldwide: In book shops and our Online Shop

We thank our partners and supporters:
Phillips, Knoll, Wüstenrot Foundation, Ikea Stiftung, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, Vitra, Design Circle

Media contact: Lara Schuh, Head of Communications
Charles-Eames-Str. 2, 79576 Weil am Rhein, Germany
T +49.7621.702.3153, communications@design-museum.de