Within the framework of the current Interreg Project “Bilateral Design Networks: Design Innovation from Early 20th Century Modernity to Digital Modernity,” a proposal was developed for a Design Camp in the Josef Hoffmann Museum in Brtnice (CZ). The goal of the Design Camp was to provide new accessibility to the cultural heritage bequeathed by Josef Hoffmann to Brtnice and to revitalize the specific function of his birthplace as an abode of creativity by means of an Artists in Residence program.
 
To this end, the MAK, Vienna, and the Moravian Gallery, Brno, invited selected Czech and Austrian students to develop design concepts for Josef Hoffmann’s birth house and its garden, under the direction of Stefan Moritsch, New Design University, St. Pölten.
 
Based on a consideration of Josef Hoffmann’s design philosophy and oeuvre, and of the presentation of his work and heritage in the Josef Hoffmann Museum, jointly administered by the MAK and the Moravian Gallery, the students could choose from a number of design assignments:

• Designs or concepts for furnishings for the Josef Hoffmann Museum’s educational programs, visual material for offerings for school classes and kindergartens, containers for educational material, etc.
• Seating furniture that is inspired by or reflects Hoffmann’s design philosophy
• Designs or concepts for furnishing and configuring the garden of Josef Hoffmann’s birth house in Brtnice—originally laid out by Hoffmann—that are inspired by or reflect Hoffmann’s design philosophy
• Design ideas for the forecourt of the Josef Hoffmann Museum

In September 2018, the students spent a week in Brtnice, where through guided tours, presentations by experts, and intensive contact with local people they learnt about Josef Hoffmann’s life, work, and design philosophy. Initial ideas were further developed in workshops with the students in Brno, Vienna, and Prague during 2018/19. In December 2018, the results of the Design Camp were presented in a preliminary exhibition to the people of Brtnice. Finally, under the guidance of experienced master craftspeople, the students created prototypes and models of their individual projects in a week-long workshop in Ober-Grafendorf (Lower Austria). The workshop was documented in photograph and film. The presentation shows the nine completed projects.

Opening: Tuesday, 8 October 2019, 7 p.m.
Presentation Dates: 9 – 13 October 2019
MAK FORUM