The Bauhaus Design School may be the most prestigious and influential design studio in the last century with regard to modern furniture. Founder and architect Walter Gropius believed that furniture served a social and societal function, and that minimalist, inexpensive design was the way to ensure everyone had access to comfortable, sophisticated furniture. This design ethic remains very much in force today, and Bauhaus-inspired designs grace every kind of building from public offices to private residences.

These 20th century modernists made metalwork their own, and reclaimed it as a material from the worlds of engineering and architecture. They adored its strength and versatility, and its aesthetic simplicity. Tubular steelwork is one of the signature trademarks of many of the sleek, modern designs is of Bauhaus furniture.

Here are five classic Bauhaus designs that you might see just about anywhere!

1. Brno chair by Mies van der Rohe

Designed by the popular German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, this classic, elegant chair is still being used by the stylish and fashion conscious all over the world. Mies van der Rohe was an alumnus of the Bauhaus and coupled his unique architectural vision with the Bauhaus vision of inexpensive, easy to assemble furniture. The Brno chair has a simple chrome plated frame made of flat steel plate, which is combined with a supportive and soft upholstered seat. It is one of the most successful chairs to come out of the Bauhaus school, it is still made today under license but is also extensively copied. Beware of cheap imitations! Some places you may see this (or very similar) designs include reception areas, waiting rooms, smart offices, and high end private residences -making this design one of the most ubiquitous in the furniture industry.

2. Wassily Chair

This chair is actually the victim of a misnomer, in that it was not designed specifically for artist Wassily Kandinski. However, Kandinski, who served on the faculty of the Bauhaus at the time Marcel Breuer created the chair, thought so highly of the design that Breuer, the then head of the cabinetry workshop of the Bauhaus, created him a copy for his personal dwelling. Through a slight confusion regarding the history of this design, the Wassily chair has been known by this name for over eighty years. The Wassily chair is popular in ultramodern décor such as that one may encounter in a business’s headquarters or legal offices.

3. The Barcelona Chair and Ottoman

Reminiscent of a chaise longue combined with a love seat, or a love seat and ottoman, this exquisitely comfortable and relaxing chair was created by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lily Reich in the late 1920s. Barcelona chairs are popular in high-end resorts and office reception areas, and are believed to have been inspired by the ancient Roman ‘curule’ chairs, which were built to fold up. Unlike many Bauhaus designs, this particular chair requires more handcrafting than mass production, which makes these more expensive than some other Bauhaus designs, and hence very desirable for affluent businesses.

4. Cantilvered Model B32 Chair

The origins of this classic chair are often disputed. But it is generally attributed to Marcel Bruer, the genius behind the misnamed Wassily Chair. This classic design, instantly recognizable from middle-class homes the world over, was designed to accommodate the budgets and needs of families of modest means. The tubular steel chairs were intended to be inexpensive yet sturdy, easy to transport, and comfortable to sit on. The long length of steel tubing was a big part of the look, and the lack of ornamentation in a ‘designed’ chair was at the time totally revolutionary. Chances are you’ve sat on a chair like this at a friend’s house, or you may even have a few in your dining room right now! Because they are cheap to produce and simple to customize, these chairs may be the most famous Bauhaus-inspired designs on the market today.

5. The Swivel Chair

Designed by Le Corbusier, one of the founding fathers of modernism, The ‘Swivel’ Chair was originally designed as part of the ‘Living equipment’ collection at the Salon d’Automne in Paris 1929. With its soft and sensuous leather armrests and cushions it is ideal for any occasion. This popular design can be found at breakfast counters in diners, breakfast bars and nooks in private residences, in bars and taverns, and of course in “man caves” the world over. This sleek, modern design allows a three-hundred-sixty degree rotation and rugged elegance while staying true to the original Bauhaus ethos of inexpensive manufacture and easy assembly. Because of this, they are a perennial favorite for places that get a lot of traffic from the public.

The legacy of the Bauhaus, despite its short-lived “actual” life due to pressure from the Nazi-controlled German government, continues to inform ideas and notions of good design and budget principles to this day. When the artists, architects, and furniture designers who made up the Bauhaus faculty and student body fled Germany for other lands, they took their unique design concepts and philosophy with them. Without this exodus, Bauhaus furniture might have become a mere historical footnote, rather than the impressive cultural phenomenon it remains today. Odds are good that you see or use Bauhaus-inspired furniture every day and never even realize it. Given the modern emphasis on inexpensive yet strong construction, one can reasonably assume that the Bauhaus will continue to inform furniture design and aesthetics for many years to come.

Guest Post : Chairs in the Bauhaus is originally posted on Tuvie

Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011 is originally posted on Tuvie

Designer : L’Oeil du Chat via [WashingtonExaminer]

Image credit : AP Photo/Francois Mori

The idea came up from Airport authority AdP earlier this year as a way to modernize Hall 40, one of the dozens of boarding gates at Paris’ second airport. These virtual boarding agents are actually being rear-projected onto a human shaped silhouette made of plexiglass. Just press a button when it’s boarding time, the agent will come out of a thin air. Three airport boarding agents were filmed in a studio to create the illusions, the airport hopes that this way, the virtual boarding agents will be more eye-catching and easier for passengers to understand instead of traditional electric display terminals.

You’ll find the agent greet you such as “Bonjour! I invite you to go to your boarding gate. Paris Airports wishes you a bon voyage,” as the destination of your flight flashes in front of him. The technology behind these amazing virtual agents was developed by a Paris audiovisual marketing agency, L’Oeil du Chat where they have placed virtual agents in airports in London and Manchester earlier this year.

Image credit : AP Photo/Francois Mori

This airport’s experiment will be evaluated by the end of the year, which means if the passengers feel they are very helping, there’s a possibility that the project will be expanded to other boarding halls at Orly or to Paris’ larger Charles de Gaulle airport. Well, we do hope these virtual boarding agents test result is good, because we want to see more of them in every airport instead of electric displays.

Paris Airport is Testing Virtual Boarding Agents is originally posted on Tuvie

Siara is unlike other sound producing device that affects our psychological processes. It has been designed out of an aspiration to appreciate silence. This excellent audio streaming device made from solid walnut and aluminum works in a simple manner. It comprises of 2 parts including a microphone and a server. Place the microphone in a transonic environment and press the button to start the streaming process. Tune in from the place of your choice using your iPhone, iTunes or internet ratio compatible device. The user can either have the streaming url from Siara system for him/her or share it to the rest of the world.

Designer : Navid Gornall

Siara Audio Streaming Product To Broadcast Your Voice To The World is originally posted on Tuvie

Designer : David Chavez

Haptical Braille Watch Project from David Chavez is originally posted on Tuvie

Characterized by horizontal lines and rounded, wind-resistant shapes, the new, streamlined looks differed completely from the decorative extravagance of the 1920s. They evoked a sense of speed and efficiency and projected the image of progress and affluence the public desired.

From : USPS via [Core77]

USPS Will Release Limited Edition Industrial Design History Postage Stamps is originally posted on Tuvie

Designer : IDEO

Future Self Serving Banking (ATM) by IDEO is originally posted on Tuvie

If yes, Tuvie would like to offer you the opportunity to become a contributor which includes the following responsibilities:

• Finding innovative products, designs, concepts that are worth publishing on Tuvie – One of the fastest growing tech blogs around.
• Write and use your creativity to bring out the design and functional aspects of the same.
• The skill of using adobe photoshop is a must.

When it comes to the remuneration, we will cordially welcome any ideas and suggestions about the pay amount but we pay via Paypal.

So, if you are confident, grab the opportunity without hesitating before it goes to someone else.

What we need:

• 3 Sample posts
• Tell us about yourself and why you are interested in writing about design
• Your contact info
• Tell us how many posts you could write for us per week
• Your rate per post

Send your application to thefuture[at]tuvie.com

Welcome to Tuvie in advance.

Tuvie Is Looking For A Writer/Contributor is originally posted on Tuvie