SE 42 Chair by Egon Eiermann for Wilde+spieth

Born in Neuendorf, Germany in 1904, Egon Eiermann was a prominent architect and industrial designer whose work defined the second modernity movement and continues to define modern German furniture design. 

From 1923 to 1927, Eiermann studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin, under German architect Hans Poelzig (1869-1936). Shortly after, Eiermann worked in the building department of Karstadt before he and architect Fritz Jaenecke (1903-1978) opened their own firm. The pair worked together for a few years, designing apartments and residences in and around Berlin, before parting ways in 1934. Between 1934 and 1938, Eiermann was hired by Grieneisen to design not only buildings and interiors, but to redesign the German company’s whole brand too. He continued to work as an architect throughout the Second World War, designing buildings for the Nazi government.

In 1947, he joined the faculty of architecture at Karlsruhe University where he developed steel frame construction methods. During various trips to the United States between 1950 and 1956, Eiermann met many luminaries like Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whose influence can be seen in Eiermann’s designs. His architectural repertoire includes St Matthew’s Church in Pforzheimer (1951-1953)—an exemplar of postwar modernism and a model for modernist architects; its architectural successor and the most famous of Eiermann’s projects, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin (1959-63); the West German pavilion at the Brussels World Exhibition (1958) with fellow German architect-designer Sep Ruf (1908-1982); the West German embassy in Washington, D.C. (1958-64); a building for the German Parliament in Bonn (1965-1969); the IBM headquarters in Stuttgart (1967-1972); and the Olivetti buildings in Frankfurt (1968-72).

In 1948, Eiermann created a collection of chairs that combined bentwood with tubular steel for Wilde & Spieth, a company that had until that point focused solely on the production of shutters. This fruitful collaboration created the three-legged SE 42 Chair (1949); the SE 68 Desk Chair (1951); the E 10 Wicker Chair (1952); the SE 18 Folding Chair (1952) which awarded the Good Design Award in 1953; the S 319 Folding Table (1952); and the SE 119 Church Chair (1958)—which was designed to be used in St. Matthew’s Church in Pforzheim, but was also used the same year in the dining room of the German Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Brussels.

Having solidified his claim as both an architect and an industrial designer, in 1968 Eiermann was the recipient of The Grand Prize of the BDA (Federation of German Architects), and Germany’s Grand Order of Merit. Eiermann passed away in 1970 at the age of 65.

Manufacturer Wilde+Spieth was founded in 1831 as an Esslingen, Germany-based carpentry workshop, at first simply named Spieth. The company spent its initial century of activity producing roller shutters, before a 1948 collaboration with the esteemed German postwar architect and industrial designer Egon Eiermann redirected its range toward seating  (and international renown). This fruitful partnership lasted until 1970 and produced over thirty chair designs that combined bentwood with tubular steel.

Standouts from Wilde+Spieth's timelessly modern collection include the three-legged SE 42 Chair (1949); the stackable SE 68 Desk Chair (1951); the E 10 Wicker Chair (1952); the SE 18 Folding Chair (1952), which was honored with a Good Design Award in 1953; the S 319 Folding Table (1952); and the SE 119 Church Chair (1958), which was designed to be used in St. Matthew’s Church in Pforzheim and was also used the same year in the dining room of the German Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Brussels.

Outside of Eiermann, Wilde+Spieth’s midcentury portfolio includes designs from other German modernist architects, most notably Paul Schneider von Esleben (and his ca. 1950s Rattan Chair with solid teak armrests); Herta-Maria Witzemann (and her 1954 Rattan Lounge Chair); and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Bauhaus disciple, Herbert Hirche (and his ca. 1950s wicker Cane Chairs). 

Since Eiermann’s passing in 1970, Wilde+Spieth has chiefly continued producing his most successful chair designs, revered as European modernist classics. In 2013, the company collaborated with contemporary maker Les Couleurs® to reissue Wilde+Spieth’s iconic SE 68 Desk Chair in four colors from the Le Corbusier color range, for which Les Couleurs has exclusive licensing. Orchestral seating, as well as tables , music stands , and accessories  (i.e., instrumental floor pads and shelfs) round out the rest of company’s contemporary oeuvre—designs developed by talents that span from Daniel Libeskind to Thore Garbers and the collective Edelhoff & Nettesheim.