Vitra is known worldwide for both its iconic pieces and its new designs from internationally acclaimed designers. The company’s products and concepts are developed in Switzerland by applying a diligent design process that brings together the company’s engineering excellence with the creativity of leading international designers.

We spoke with Managing Director Josef Kaiser about the five products in Vitra’s catalog that he feels best depicts the company’s story. “It is our goal to create products with a high functional and aesthetic life expectancy.”

Josef Kaiser

Panton Chair

1. Panton Chair, Verner Panton 1995/60
“We celebrated the Panton chair’s 50th anniversary this year. It marks an important step in the history of Vitra. Not only was this chair Vitra’s first independently developed product but also one that other companies for many years did not believe could be built out of one piece. 50 years later there are three versions the chair hasn’t lost any of its fascination.”

Organic Chair

2. Organic Chair, Charles Eames & Eero Saarinen, 1940
“This is another very iconic and important chair marking the early years of Vitra. It was designed in 1940 as a contribution to the New York MoMA’s “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition. Formally speaking it was ahead of its time owing to the lack of manufacturing techniques and didn’t go into production until the late 1950s.”

Alcove Sofa

3. Alcove Sofa, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, 2006/2008
“This is the perfect piece to describe Vitra’s office Net’n’Nest philosophy: in today’s time when we can almost work from anywhere, we mostly meet in the office to communicate and share information. The Alcove Sofa creates the setting for a quiet and comfortable call, a place for withdrawal from the hustle of office life by placing two sofas across from each other. Yet, the same constellation of sofas creates a meeting place and point of communication for informal meeting among co-workers.

Vegetal

4. Vegetal, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, 2008
“The Vegetal chair has been one of the biggest challenges to develop in the history of Vitra. Creating a shape that would not only look organic and naturally grown but be comfortable, supportive of a sitter’s weight and stackable took our development team over three years of trial and error. We are all the more happy and satisfied with the final product.”

Chairless

5. Chairless, Alejandro Araven, 2010
“This is our latest introduction that has caused quite a bit of uproar. Some people can’t wait for Chairless to come to the US others are very skeptical of its function and usability. Personally, Chairless is one of these products that make me very excited and happy to be part of the Vitra Project. Good design does not only have to look good and fulfill a simple function it also has to inspire people and challenge the status quo.”