The offices of DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart and the EU Commission in Brussels as well as the Coca-Cola corporate headquarters are furnished with his chairs. Even the long lavender rows in the Berlin Reichstag were designed by him. It is impossible to imagine the world of designer furniture without Rolf Fehlbaum’s Vitra AG, even though a German advertising agency originally tried to convince him to change the name.
Fehlbaum, born in Basel, has run the globally active family company since 1976. It all started with a simple furniture store which his father, Willi Fehlbaum, bought in 1933. In 1950, the company crossed the border to Weil am Rhein. At the end of the 1950s, Vitra obtained the rights for the European production and sale of furniture designs from Charles and Ray Eames as well as George Nelson. During this time, the son studied social sciences in Freiburg, Munich, Bern and Basel, started an art book publishing company and produced documentary films. Rolf Fehlbaum worked for the Bayerische Architektenkammer (Bavarian Architects’ Association) before taking over management of Vitra at the end of the 1970s.
Fehlbaum has received several awards for his work, including the IF-Design Award. In 1997, the Swiss citizen received the Bundespreis für Förderer des Designs (German Federal Award for the Promotion of Design) from the German minister for economic affairs. Since the Vitra Design-Museum was founded in 1989, Weil has become a destination for both design and architecture enthusiasts alike. Frank O. Gehry, Nicolas Grimshaw, Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando have designed a multiform architectural company profile unlike any other on earth.
A retrospective of the work of Italian designer Joe Columbo including designs from the 1960s is on display at the Vitra Design Museum until 10 September 2006.
Contact:
Daimler AG
Niederlassung Stuttgart
Bruckenbachstraße 42
71229 Leonberg
Tel. +49 7152 97350
Fax +49 7152 973592
E-Mail: info.stuttgart@mercedes-benz.com
http://www.mercedes-benz.de
