It was about 20 years ago that the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein began making miniature replicas of milestones in furniture design from its great collection. As a kind of summary of the history of industrial furniture design – moving from historicism and art nouveau to the new objectivity of Bauhaus and radical design, and from postmodernism all the way up until the present day – the collection has grown to include more than 100 pieces.
The chairs are all one sixth of the size of the historical originals. They are all true to scale and replicate the originals right down to the smallest details in construction, material and colour. Thus, not only have the designers key points been translated in the miniature versions, but details such as materials, the natural grain of the wood, the reproduction of screws and elaborate handicraft involved have also been taken into consideration.
All of this has made the pieces in the Miniatures Collection into popular collectors items. At the same time they provide people who are interested in culture and design with insights into the history of the environments that are created.
