The exhibition explores the history and future of the private interior through images, documents and artefacts related to 20 groundbreaking spaces that have changed the way we live.

Since the exhibitions of Vitra Design Museum travel for several years, our goal was to develop a modular, durable and easily transportable display system that makes efficient use of materials and can adapt to any space while escaping the stern orthogonality that characterises many modular systems. Given the waste footprint often generated by traveling exhibitions, we eliminated single-use and non-recyclable materials, and all offcuts form part of the display system.

Visually, the hard reflectivity of the stainless steel sheets is contrasted by the warm materiality of the cork bricks that support them, and the mirrored surface offers unexpected angles of view onto the objects on display, as well as projecting a play of light and shadows onto the ceilings of the museum spaces designed by Frank Gehry.

When looking for a material for the modular pedestals we began developing a cork brick - a sustainable material with re-usable properties. Cork is harvested from cork oak tree bark which regenerates and has incredible potential for low carbon / carbon negative buildings and is a natural insulant. Natural, renewable and recyclable - cork has been used not only for wine bottle stoppers but also by ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks in architecture and boat design.

Stainless steel standardized sheets create 3 modular forms from a single cut. The steel in this form is also recyclable, durable and will go on to be used for many years of exhibition adapting to a variety of spaces and exhibitions. Following its years of use the sheets can be reused in their original form or melted down to become something new. The steel pedestal surfaces reflect the furnitures, artifacts and visionary interiors.

The three different stainless steel shapes come together to create an elegant modular display system. The system of cork and steel can be endlessly reconfigured as the exhibition travels to different locations, and beyond that, can be repurposed as building materials.

The exhibition is not a replication of home interiors but rather the artifacts, furniture design and photographs of its occupancy that are part of the complex and layered design of homes and how we live. Laid out in reverse chronological order and split into four sections, the exhibition takes visitors backwards through time from the present day to the 1920s.

Design Team:
Space Caviar (Joseph Grima, Camilo Oliveira, Sofia Pia Belenky, Francesco Lupia)

Exhibition Curators:
Jochen Eisenbrand, Anna-Mea Hoffman

Special Thanks:
Mateo Kries and Marc Zehntner, directors, Vitra Design Museum

Technical Partner:
Amorim Cork Composites

Exhibition:
From 08 February to 23 March 2020
Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany

Dezeen
Metropolis
Wallpaper