Have you ever sat on Karl Nothhelfer's skid-base chair? You don't think so? We have, because this chair was in almost every classroom in Germany. Take a look at the distinctive chair and, above all, discover the man behind it. He not only revolutionized the school with his chair designs, but was also a pioneer of the 20th century in many other areas.
Born in 1900, Karl Nothhelfer was born in the midst of industrialization. As the son of a carpenter, he himself also completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter. But Karl Nothhelfer wanted more. When he began his architectural studies at the art school in Karlsruhe in 1919, he drew and painted imaginatively with dazzling colors. His creativity also made itself felt in his architectural designs, as we will see later. But before he designed and created on his own, Karl Nothhelfer first taught for a few years as a teacher at various institutions.
As a teacher at art and construction schools
Here he shares his creativity and ideas and shapes the next generation. First as a lecturer, then even as a professor.
Working as a freelance architect
Karl Nothhelfer develops independently after World War 2 in his architectural office on Lake Constance. Here he can shape his designs according to his own wishes.
Working as a freelance architect
Karl Nothhelfer develops independently after World War 2 in his architectural office on Lake Constance. Here he can shape his designs according to his own wishes.
Cooperation with VS starts
Both as a product designer and as an architect, Karl Nothhelfer supported us during his self-employment for the next decades.
Karl Nothhelfer is known for his creativity and love of color. His creations are known for the play with different tones paired with his new ideas. Thus, he was also one of the first to develop serial houses in Germany. Thanks to his many years of teaching, he was always eager to share his knowledge. Therefore, in addition to his architectural achievements, we have summarized a few of his other achievements.
Inventor:
Karl Nothhelfer likes to experiment and develops, for example, the sanding varnish. This innovative technique allows furniture to have a particularly smooth surface. The color of the surface is so smooth that you can see yourself reflected in it. For us today this is nothing new, but in the 19th century such a process was still considered unthinkable.
Author:
During his self-employment, Karl Nothhelfer was able to give free rein to his ideas. Shortly before he became a design partner of VS, he appropriately published a work in 1949 entitled "Das Sitzmöbel. A reference book for upholsterers, chair makers, designers and schools" and in 1950 "Furniture".
Editor:
In 1946 he was one of the co-founders of the magazine "Bauen und Wohnen" - the 1st German construction magazine. For the next few years he published his own work in it as co-editor.
In 1980 Karl Nothhelfer passed away, but fortunately not his inventions and designs with him. His son Michael Nothhelfer also became an architect and took over the office as early as 1970, retaining the inventive spirit and specializing in ecological building with modern earthen construction.
Karl Nothhelfer has been working with us since 1950. He is the architect of several administrative and production buildings. Born into a new era, he also participated as a pioneering design partner with us in the production of furniture - and created a whole new world in schoolroom furnishings with VS. The most famous chairs of German classrooms were created in 1950 and further developed over the years by VS and Karl Nothhelfer together.
Used many times and copied just as often, you will certainly recognize the chair designs of Karl Nothhelfer. Whether the original made of wood or the 70s revival made of steel - there is hardly a classroom that was not seated with our creations and for example our school museum also shows.
Probably the most famous chair among schoolchildren is now produced more than 6.5 million times and was probably in almost every German school. Characteristically, the exterior corresponds to the name. The beech chairs have runners and can thus be easily "tidied" onto the matching runner table.
Karl Nothhelfer continues to work with VS and designs a chair for multi-purpose rooms and school auditoriums. The so-called KN-38 are easily stackable due to their slim design. This feature makes them particularly practical when space needs to be created quickly in large rooms.
An extension of the classic, the oval tubular steel design replaces the skid-base chair in classrooms in the 1970s. The principle remains the same: matching the table, students simply clear them onto it after the school bell.
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