Vitra Editions Special Auction
For a limited time, a selection of rare collector’s pieces is on display at the VitraHaus. In collaboration with the Vitra Circle Store, these exclusive pieces can be purchased at an online auction.
The first Vitra Edition in 1987 offered participating architects and designers the freedom to realise their own ideas and to develop experimental furniture objects. They were encouraged to explore freely: the choice of materials, techniques, applications and formal approaches remained entirely open. There was no initial requirement for the results to become part of the regular Vitra product range. At the same time, designers had full access to Vitra’s technical expertise.
Working without market- or production-driven constraints led to surprising solutions at the intersection of design and art. Some of the edition pieces remained unique artistic works, while others were produced in limited series.
And the Pretzel Chair is an icon from the 1950s, which Vitra later reissued as a limited edition.
From 4 June, the pieces presented in the auction will be on view at the VitraHaus, embodying the experimental mindset and the spirit of creative freedom that defined the first Vitra Edition. Produced only in small quantities, they are now highly sought-after collector’s items.
The collector’s pieces
From 04.06.2026 at the VitraHaus | Auctions start on 23.08.2026
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Well Tempered Chair
Ron Arad, 1986/87
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Bad Tempered Chair 16/1000
Ron Arad, 2002
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Bad Tempered Chair 136/1000
Ron Arad, 2002
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Pretzel Chair
George Nelson, 1952
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Plywood Chair
Jasper Morrison, 1989
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Greene Street Chair
Gaetano Pesce, 1984/86
Squashed by Sticks and Stones - Ron Arad
Ron Arad (born 1951 in Tel Aviv; lives and works in London) originally built the metal-crushing machine *Sticks and Stones* for the *Nouvelles Tendances* exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 1987. The machine ‘eats’ metal chairs and objects, then spits them back out as compressed cubes. The objects travel upward on a conveyor belt before falling into a hydraulic press, where they are crushed. These objects are currently available for purchase - without a bidding process - via the Vitra Design Museum shop.
