Vitra

Hill House 1 Miniature wood black / Mackintosh (1903)

Located in Weil am Rhein in Germany (near the Swiss border), the Vitra Design Museum is a privately funded museum that showcases the unique design collection of the Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra. The Vitra Design Museum collection is one of the most important furniture design collections in the world. It contains around 7,000 pieces of furniture, more than a thousand lighting pieces, numerous archives and the inherited series of famous designers such as Charles & Ray Eames, Verner Panton and Alexander Girard. The Vitra Design Museum's collection of miniatures, which started more than 20 years ago, is an illustration of the milestones in the history of design. This collection encompasses the entire history of industrial furniture from the 1800s to present day, creating a pathway through time leading to the creation of modern seating, from historicism and Art Nouveau to Bauhaus and New Objectivity, Radical Design and Postmodernism to present day. A magnificent collection of emblematic works is presented to you. These chairs that have taken their place in history all carry the memories of their times: Materials, shapes, colours... They reveal the often forgotten dreams of their time, the (sometimes utopian) aspirations of their designers, but above all to their vision of the world. The chairs are reproduced on a one-sixth scale and faithfully replicate the original historical model down to the smallest details in the design, material and colour shade. This precise detail is also applied to the wood grain, the reproduction of the screws and the meticulous methods of handcrafting. These miniatures are not only valuable collector's items, but are also an educational tool for universities, design schools and architects. Rolf Fehlbaum, President of Vitra: “We can deduce and understand an era, its social order, its materials, its techniques and its taste by observing its chairs. I should point out that no other everyday object offers such diversity.” This vertical chair was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the house carrying the same name: Hill House, in Helensburg. More precisely, it was designed to be kept in the dining room. Noteworthy detail: the piece is painted white, so that the tinted wooden furniture stands out. Mackintosh was the architect that threw out the bases of Art Nouveau. He believed that the building, the interior design and the furniture had to be in harmony. After having built Hill House, he designed the interior architecture and furniture, including the famous chair in 1902. The rectilinear style and the criss-cross pattern are his trademarks. It certainly wouldn't have had this slightly curved back if his wife hadn't moderated his linear impulses. He died in 1928. The design company Cassina took on the reproduction of his chair and marketed it from 1973, decorating the seat with dark greens or pale pinks. It is not necessarily easy to integrate a chair designed specifically for one particular decoration into your own interior design. Hill House 1 was designed to match the furniture and the building itself, however Mackintosh's elegance and distinctive design, although it marked an era, are not totally incompatible with our own. This wooden throne still fits well in our entrances, on either side of a fireplace or a console table. A true architectural icon, Hill House 1 is ultimately more of a sculpture than a functional chair.

In detail:

• Variation : Hill House 1

• Brand : Vitra

• Designer : Charles Rennie Mackintosh

• Type : Miniature

• Colour : Black - Green

• Material : Fabric - Stained maple

• Dimensions : L 6.5 x D 6 cm x H 23.5 cm
• Weight : 1.1 lb
• Characteristics : Miniatures Collection of the Vitra Design Museum: great classics from the history of modern furniture on a 1:6 scale - Copy of the historical originals down to the last detail - Model: Hill House 1, date of creation 1903, designer: Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 - 1928) - Presented in a valuable wooden gift box with a printed logo and brochure included
• Country of Manufacture : Europe