Trix & Robert Haussmann. The Log-O-Rithmic Slide Rule: A Retrospective

About

KW Institute for Contemporary Art presents the first survey on the work of Trix & Robert Haussmann in Germany, which showcases an array of projects, spanning over half a century of production and research as well as additional interventions by designer Inside Outside / Petra Blaisse and artists Liam Gillick and Karl Holmqvist. The architect and designer duo Trix (born 1933 in Chur, CH) & Robert Haussmann (born 1931 in Zurich, CH) may be counted among the most important Swiss architects of the twentieth century. Their multifaceted practice ranges from architecture, product design, furniture, and textiles, in which creative plays on form, function, and language form its base. They have realized about 650 projects in their lifetime including the legendary Da Capo Bar, Shopville in Zurich’s main railway station, the boutique Weinberg, the famous Kronenhallenbar and numerous successful experiments in artistic and handcrafted furniture. Since founding their ‚Allgemeine Entwurfsanstalt’ (General Design Institute) in 1967, Trix & Robert Haussmann have been pioneers in breaking with the premises of modern, canonical orders and concepts, reinterpreting playfully the linguistic dogmas of architecture theories. 

Evading the dictum ‚form follows function’, their designs pursue a ‘manierismo critico’ (a critical Mannerism), permitting them to merge the old and the new, to generate dissent and work with ambiguity, contradiction, and chance. The dedicated and thoughtful challenging of aesthetic conventions of Trix & Robert Haussmann was ahead of its time and are providing a very important contribution to the contemporary discourses on art and architecture.

The exhibition occupies the first and second floor of KW and showcases amongst others highlights of their personal archive, works from the collection of the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, works from the estate by Peter Röthlisberger and actual compartments of interior design.