WINDLIN, Cornel and Rolf FEHLBAUM. Project Vitra. Sites, Products, Authors, Museum, Collections, Signs; Chronology, Glossary.

(Basel, Switzerland): Birkhäuser, 2008. First edition. Hardcover. 24 by 17cm. 396 pages. An ambitious survey of the history, philosophy and cultural activities of Vitra, charting the company’s development from its foundation in 1957 to its emergence as one of the world’s leading advocates of modern furniture design and architecture. Rather than a conventional corporate history, Project Vitra examines the company’s distinctive conception of design as a cultural project, documenting its collaborations with designers, architects, graphic designers and curators, as well as the evolution of the Vitra Campus, the Vitra Design Museum and its internationally important collections. Richly illustrated throughout, the volume features essays by Alex Coles, Rolf Fehlbaum, Luis Fernández-Galiano, Deyan Sudjic and Alexander von Vegesack, together with extensive documentation of Vitra’s collaborations with Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Jasper Morrison, Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Hella Jongerius, Antonio Citterio, Verner Panton, Herzog & de Meuron and many others. A detailed chronology and glossary complete this comprehensive account of one of the most influential design companies of the post-war period. A very good copy in dustwrapper.