Konstantin Grcic. Design is Work
Author:
Tim Bechthold
min
Reading Time
with Konstantin Grcic (designer, Konstantin Grcic Design, Berlin),
Tim Bechthold (Head of the Conservation Department, Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum) and
Hubert Filser (journalist)
on the occasion of the exhibition “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly“.
From model to object
In August 2013 Konstantin Grcic donated to Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum twentyseven threedimensional models, which – all of them designed between 1999 and 2003 – eventually led to the serial production of the iconic chair_ONE.
A workshop discussion with Konstantin Grcic was appointed and soon took place – moderated by Hubert Filser. Its aim was to clarify the chronological sequence of the models and to obtain futher background information on the making-of and the used materials.
The aquired information and knowledge of the design process served both as basis for the required conservation measurements as well as for the preparation of the exhibition:
About the documentary
Konstantin Grcic is considered one of the most innovative and profound product designers worldwide.
“Design is Work” accompanies the designer for the duration of a year in the various segments of his working world: while designing in the studio with his team or deliberating over the right decision with a client; among the tumult of “Salone” (furniture fair, Milan) or during the planning of an exhibition for the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Here, with the aid of design models, the developmental process behind one of his most prominent pieces, “chair_ONE” becomes tangible – from the initial sketches to the finished product. In the film, these steps are lucidly illustrated by Grcic’s back then current project: a furniture series made of cast iron, conceived and developed with the long-established Italian design company “Magis” and its dynamic founder Eugenio Perazza.
It becomes apparent that design involves a tremendous amount of work – but also considerably more.
