Entering the Stage

How do we want to live? Students at the Merz Academy asked themselves this question as part of the design course “Graphic Design in Space” led by Kathrin Milic-Grunwald. The exhibition, a collaboration with the German Werkbund Baden-Württemberg, is based on the groundbreaking building exhibition “The Apartment” from 1927 and creates a dialogue platform that invites reflection on the role of functionality, efficiency and sustainability.

The historical building exhibition “The Apartment” was a groundbreaking event that presented a variety of innovative living concepts under the artistic direction of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In this context, 17 international architects presented 33 designs that embodied modern, healthy, affordable and functional living. “Lebensbühne” draws inspiration from this heritage and asks the question: “How do we want to live?”

The students at the Merz Academy have dealt intensively with iconic objects such as the “Berlin Key”, the “Cookie Tin”, the “Werkbundkiste” and the “Kitchen”. These objects – once symbolic of the design demands of their time – are now brought into the current context to raise questions: What defines good design today? What lessons can we learn from the past? And what questions and demands will we place on the design of things in the future?