Door handle in matt

HEWI MAG / Design

Design icons -
Making architecture tangible

The 111 is one of the originals of everyday culture that have written architectural history. We usually only realise how often we hold it in our hands when we encounter it in museums or books.

The polyamide lever handle is a German innovation. The breakthrough of the design icon 111 was achieved with the order to equip the new university buildings in Marburg. The architect wanted an interior design that matched in form and colour.Plastic was made for it. The year was 1969, a time in which Pop Art and the synthetic material became socially acceptable, to which HEWI made a significant contribution with the 111 lever handle.

Lever handle in the colour red

System 111 | The Original

The design language of System 111 is puristic and timeless. This gives System 111 its versatility

The shape sets the tone

The multi-award-winning design continues the tradition of simple geometric fittings, as was already the case in Bauhaus times. But the unmistakable colours and ergonomic shape revolutionised the entire industry. Little by little, a whole range of wardrobes, handrails and sanitary products was created around the innovative lever handle.

This was the first time that the system concept was taken up - in keeping with the spirit of the Ulm School. And HEWI achieves cult status. An original is just for eternity. It integrates harmoniously into any environment and is at the same time as individual as man and space.

Lever handle in the colour black matt made of polyamide with brass rosette surround

At bicolor the matt surface meets stainless steel

Minimalist lever handle in the colour may green made of polyamide

The puristic design solution mini enables a sophisticated design

Minimalist lever handle in the colour black matt made of polyamide

With the Edition matt HEWI offers a unique surface

Design originals are cult objects that make themselves useful

"What makes an original an original?" is a campaign for original products which HEWI is driving forward together with its partners Artemide, Cor, Dornbracht, Gira, Thonet, USM Haller and Walter Knoll. With the alliance of leading brands from the furniture and furnishing industry, HEWI aims to raise awareness of the value of genuine design originals.

Not everything that is new and completely different also has what it takes to be a long-running hit. Many pieces of furniture and utensils that were hailed as groundbreaking disappeared from the scene only a short time later. And yet, there is. Those special things that make the difference. Objects that everyone knows, but which have nevertheless been generating enthusiasm for decades.

Design originals show the essence of their time and at the same time are so timelessly beautiful that we want to surround ourselves with them for a lifetime. For despite their fame they have remained heroes of everyday life. But what do they have that others do not have? Is it her wayward form? Their unique functionality? Your elegant fusion with the environment? It is probably the essence of many characteristics that make an original an original.

Thonet chair with chrome-plated frame, woven seat and backrest

Thonet

The S 32 cantilever chair is one of the most important design innovations of the 20th century. Century. Its reduced form, which defies all stylistic characteristics typical of the era, has been considered modern for 90 years.

Square stainless steel light switch

Gira

Thanks to its clear, minimalist design, the timelessly beautiful Gira E2 switch range can be integrated into a multitude of furnishing styles. True to the motto "less is more", everything has been reduced to the essentials, except for the excellent quality.

Dark brown leather sofa with chrome-plated feet

Cor

Entrepreneurial courage and the ability to elegantly sit out short-lived trends have made Conseta a design original that cannot age at all: because it is always a little ahead of its time.

Flexibly adjustable aluminium desk lamp

Artemide

Since 1987, the Tolomeo has been at the top of the must-have list of creative professionals. Whether energy-saving lamp, halogen or LED: Due to the enormous flexibility of the original, the direct light can be optimally directed.

 

Open cabinet with two compartments in yellow and chrome-plated frame

USM

A chrome-plated sphere, tubes and connectors allow modular furniture to be created from side tables to complex room dividers that can be adapted to the user's needs and ideas.

Chrome-plated mixer tap with two cross-handle controls

Dornbracht

The Tara fitting was not only the benchmark for more than a decade. It is the benchmark for the future. Tara is the most original form of minimalist, contemporary interpretation of the fitting. An archetype that many designs have followed.

Bucket chair with tulip shape in black leather and aluminium feet

Walter Knoll

He once stood for the avant-garde. Today, it is trendy in both the living and working environments: with its typical tulip shape, the FK shell chair has been one of the originals in furniture design for decades.

Further topics

A homage to the Bauhaus and the HEWI door handle 111

Interview with the makers of the exhibition Re:Form

Design icons

What makes an original an original?
© HEWI Barrierefreies Bad Signalweiß matt

Best of Decade

HEWI awarded as Universal Design Company