Wolfgang C.R. Mezger, born in 1951, studied industrial design at the University of Design in Schwäbisch Gmünd following a number of musical projects and training as a typographer.
After working as a freelancer, he founded DesignBüro Wolfgang C.R. Mezger in 1983. In addition to his professional work as a freelance designer for top international companies in the USA, UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, he also has teaching assignments at various schools of design in Berlin, London and Schwäbisch Gmünd. Since 2007, his office has been located in Göppingen, where he and his team have developed a wide range of innovative products, as evidenced by more than 80 international design awards to date.
Mr Mezger, you have already created more than 333 products in your career. So what is fascinating about designing a chair?
Basically, the chair represents the greatest challenge for a designer, whether they are a designer or an architect. The chair is the ultimate discipline of all design tasks, so to speak. It is simultaneously function and sculpture, technology and poetry. It is visually impressive and we must allow it to hold us. An almost intimate relationship is created by entrusting our bodies to this “thing”. It is precisely because of all these parameters that this exciting topic fascinates and captivates us, leading us to enthusiastically design chairs and chair ranges in all their facets.
So Aula is the first chair you have designed for Wilkhahn. A stackable, multipurpose chair made of solid plastic, that sounds tricky. What were the greatest challenges?
A clear dividing line must first be drawn here. You will find countless plastic chairs, also known as monoblock chairs, at least at every other outdoor restaurant. There are also many plastic chairs that serve the fashion market. The concept presented here serves completely different target groups such as in administration, offices, public buildings and event venues. Required here is very sophisticated quality and the highest design standards – this is no longer plastic but has been taken to new aesthetic and functional level – truly a work of art.
In order to do justice to the description multipurpose chair, Aula must have a modular design; all versions are stackable, the chair can be used with and without armrests, different colour combinations and upholstery choices are also possible, even different materials. The greatest challenge was to elegantly integrate all these functions into the product and to bring it to mass production. Giving the vertical stacking chair such delicate profiles at all – and this without the use of any metal inserts – was bold and challenging right from the outset, but we definitely wanted it. You can imagine that a number of attempts at this subtle approach were necessary in order to reach the limit of what is possible.