Vitra Home Story: Barbara Happe, Markus Fischer and a house by Walter Gropius
"It's a nice feeling to live in a monument and an even nicer one to know that it will continue to exist for a long time."
Martin Fischer is a professor of zoology, Barbara Happe a cultural scientist. The two have been married since 1987 and live and work in Jena.
"Walter Gropius only built six single-family houses in Germany. We consider it a great gift that one of them is in our possession. When we bought it in 1994, it was in a ruinous state, the garden overgrown. We had to invest a lot to restore it to its original condition. To do this, we dived deep into the history of the house, researched in books and archives.
What colours were used? How was it furnished? We have always seen the house as a total work of art that needs to be discovered further. We've been doing that for 27 years. For Gropius, the Bauhaus was not a style, but an attitude. For him, beauty manifested itself in all these things. For him, design meant clarity and line management. And doing without many things, such as green plants in the house. There are no curtains in our house. You can look inside from outside.
In our bedroom there is a bed and two stools to the right and left of the bed. And no other furniture. Some people find this austerity irritating. We find it very graceful. Practicality is also beauty. The dialogue between function and design of everyday things - and that includes furniture in particular - that's what it's all about. The design must be timeless, the function of high quality - only then does furniture have the quality to age gracefully.
It is a nice feeling to live in a monument and an even nicer feeling to know that it will continue to exist for a long time. For us, there is nothing museum-like about it and we hope that this house will never become a museum. It was built to live in."
Find an oasis of peace
This winter, you can count on comfort! The two cosy and spacious recliners Repos and Grand Repos by Vitra create pleasant areas of rest and relaxation in any room. The shapely and pleasantly upholstered design armchairs were designed by Antonio Citterio. Inviting armrests and the high back perfectly round off the exceptional comfort.
*The offer is valid in the promotional period from 01 November 2021 to 31 January 2022 - Ottoman/Panchina is supplied in the same configuration as the Repos/Grand Repos!
