Willi Fehlbaum first founded the company in 1934 as a shop-fitting firm. A trip to the US brought Willi Fehlbaum face to face with the designs of Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson, which blew him away and which he has been producing under a licence agreement since 1957. The Vitra project was launched. Since then, a passionate and pioneering spirit has presided over the development of furniture in general and chairs in particular in Birsfelden, in collaboration with independent designers. In 1977, Rolf Fehlbaum took over the direction of his father’s company, systematically developing it into one of Europe’s leading furniture outfits. He pursued the intense collaboration with important designers and architects, always looking for new solutions in the field of office and home furniture. In turn, Vitra owes its commercial success in no small part to Hanns-Peter Cohns’ savvy stewardship.
From 1984 to late 1998, Hanns-Peter Cohn worked as Head of Marketing and Distribution on the Vitra project. He left in 1998 to steer the crisis-ridden camera manufacturer Leica onto a more stable path as its CEO. The company’s stabilisation was achieved amongst others by a joint venture with Panasonic and a partnership with Hermès, Paris as its main shareholder. In 2005, Hanns-Peter Cohn came back to Vitra as its CEO, while Rolf Fehlbaum became Chairman of the Board of Directors.
After a major fire in 1981, Vitra turned to handling its own architecture with great deliberation. The company mandated British architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw with the building’s reconstruction and the development of a master plan for the grounds. The related discourse triggered a new architectural concept: different, though by no means arbitrary architectures were to meet and bestow upon the site the characteristics of vitality and distinctiveness. Next to Sir Grimshaw, other renowned architects such as Frank O. Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid and Alvaro Siza thus realised important designs upon invitation by Rolf Fehlbaum. The unique density and quality of the buildings gathered here on a small area is the reason the company grounds have turned into a Mecca for architecture and design lovers worldwide over the past 15 years. The Vitra Design Museum caters for the great public interest in the buildings located on the Vitra premises with regular architectural tours held in many languages. Having opened in 1989, the Vitra Design Museum is now a cultural institution of worldwide scope which has contributed significantly to design’s exploration and popularisation. Its travelling exhibitions are shown in museums around the world. A subsidiary opened in Berlin in 2000.
Vitra is one of the pioneers to successfully celebrate branding through architecture and design at the highest level, inside the company as well as at the interface with the outside world. Vitra Vitra Design Museum Valid as of: 27.5.2008
