D4N Esther Wilson

To mark the Bauhaus centennial Tecta has launched an experiment – »BauhausNowhaus«. The initiative impressively demonstrates that the concepts, ideas and furniture of the Bauhaus era have lost nothing of their fascination and functionality of almost 100 years ago. Tecta thus brings the vitality and enthusiasm of the past forward into the present. As a tangible expression of this fascination, a group of ambitious designers around Tecta are now personally rethinking the classics. Be it icons such as Walter Gropius F51 armchair, Erich Brendel's M10 tea table or Marcel Breuer's D4 club chair. New accents, proportions, plus contemporary and poetic impulses link the concepts of the young designers. With respect and playfulness, they boldly challenge these icons and show us: Bauhaus is alive, open to change, and as up-to-date as ever after 100 years.

The D4 is a timeless classic with its own special magic, and a chair that British designer and artist Esther Wilson grew up with. It brings back memories of her grandparents, the architects Alison and Peter Smithson, who owned a D4 and collaborated closely with Tecta.

Designer Esther Wilson, who is a trained embroiderer, has therefore created a poetic thought work that pays homage to Breuer‘s chair and the Bauhaus. She based her new edition on the Bauhaus Manifesto in its original layout. On a copy Wilson highlighted several words and hand-written notes, which she considered important, in different colours. According to their positions in the Manifesto, she embroidered the resulting colour blocks onto the textile surfaces of the D4. And in doing so created intense, minimal pieces of embroidery. Works of art with a unique rhythm of arrangement and colour repetition. The sizes and proportions of the colour blocks vary according to the chair style – Wilson has customised the pattern to scale for each version.