Hannes Wettstein

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Hannes Wettstein (born March 10, 1958 in Ascona ; † July 5, 2008 in Zurich ) was a Swiss industrial designer . In 1991 he founded his agency based in Zurich. After his death, the company was continued by his business partner Stephan Hürlemann under the name Studio Hannes Wettstein AG and renamed Hürlemann AG in 2016 . In addition to his creative work, Wettstein was a lecturer at the ETH Zurich from 1991 to 1996 and professor at the State University of Design in Karlsruhe between 1994 and 2001 . He died after a long period of cancer.

Career

After completing his training as a structural draftsman, Hannes Wettstein initially worked as an exhibition constructor. He trained himself further and started his own business as a designer in the early 1980s. In 1991 he founded his international agency based in Zurich.

Works

Lights and furniture

Wettstein's first work that attracted a lot of attention was the “Metro” lighting system, the first low-voltage lamp stretched on wire ropes, which he designed in 1982 for the manufacturer Belux. He was primarily known for his furniture creations, such as the Juliette stacking chair for the Italian company Baleri, the “Globe” sofa for Cassina, the Skater seating element for Bulo and the Vela chair collections for the Accademia, and “Alfa” and “Wave” for Molteni as well the young «tototo» collection for Maxdesign.

Interior design

Hannes Wettstein and his team not only developed furniture, but also researched and realized interiors. For example, the agency designed a pilot project for future open-plan offices for Novartis, provided the Kurz jewelry chain with a new shop concept and redesigned the retail area at Frankfurt Airport. The interior design of the Berlin Hotel Grand Hyatt by Rafael Moneo comes from Hannes Wettstein AG, as well as the interior design of the new Swiss embassy in Washington and the Winterthur Photo Museum. Together with the Zurich architect team Gigon / Guyer , the office is developing the interior design of what will be the tallest building in Switzerland, the Prime Tower on the Maag site in Zurich-West. The set designs that the Wettstein office has designed for Swiss television since 2005 have received international recognition : for the programs Club , SF Meteo (on the skyscraper roof), Rundschau , Schweiz aktuell , SF-Sport and for the news programs SF Tagesschau and 10vor10 .

Products

Wettstein has designed a wide range of everyday products, from medical devices to binoculars, from massage chairs to fountain pens to watches - for various companies such as Bosch, Lamy and Carl Zeiss.

Awards

The Hannes Wettstein agency has received numerous awards for its work, including the Red dot design award and the iF Design Award five times . A selection from the last two years:

  • 2006: Promax Gold Award for the set design for the news programs “Tagesschau” and “10vor10”
  • 2006: red dot award for the Vela chair , designed for the manufacturer Accademia
  • 2007: 1st prize from the Danish living magazine “ Bo Bedre ” for the sofa concept “EJ Delphi” (Erik Jorgensen)
  • 2007: RIBA International Awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects for the planning team for the new Swiss embassy in Washington: Steven Holl Architects, Rüssli Architects and Hannes Wettstein AG
  • 2007: iF Design Award for the «Rivo» armchair (Dietiker)
  • 2008: good design award of the Chicago Athanaeum for the chair «tototo» (Maxdesign)
  • 2008: Eyes & Ears Award for the set design by SF Meteo
  • 2008: Award for Marketing and Architecture
  • 2008: red dot award for the Delphi sofa
  • 2008: iF Design Award for the Dart chair

literature

Hannes Wettstein Seeking Archetypes , Lars Müller, Zurich 2011, ISBN 978-3-03778-265-1 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Wettstein, Hannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss industrial designer
DATE OF BIRTH March 10, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Ascona
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 2008
Place of death Zurich