At Vitra, we believe in the collage concept: a lively home is not made from one piece. Its character comes from a mix of old & new, high & low, classic & modern.
-Nora Fehlbaum, CEO Vitra.
The idea behind this concept is that of understanding your client in order to develop a space that is tailor-made for their needs, workflow and culture. These three elements - space, organisation and culture - are the cornerstone of a company’s profile and result in the specific elements that, once put together, make up the collage which both looks and works the way the customer wants it to.
Working within these parameters allows us to quantify the needs of the client and elaborate designs which reflect the company’s identity. This mix-and-match approach gives us the freedom to create layered and complex designs adapted to each individual client. As each client is unique, we offer them a unique project, based on our principles and way of looking at things.
When we talk about collage, we talk about the process - understanding the site & client, looking for references, following visual cues and the patterns and habits and wants of the people who will occupy the space. These factors are what breathe life into our projects - based on them, we put together colour palettes, curate furniture items & build up the compositions the final space consists of. When designing, we look beyond the surface level and try to understand the interior works of the people we work with.
As Charles Eames famously said: “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host, anticipating the needs of his guests.” We don’t design just for the sake of it, we design for the people who visit and live and work within our projects. The responsibility and privilege of that keeps us sharp and motivated, with our eyes on the prize.
When it comes to office design, this pressure is doubly felt: meeting the needs of both the company & its people. The collage represents the framework on which we balance this double-load; it is our guide through the design process and finally, what allows us to implement the various concepts you will find throughout our work, which is a journey we are terribly excited to take you on!
Vitra Training Sessions 2022; Vitra.