Villa Wiesbaden

A traditional German villa becomes the perfect workspace

A historic villa takes on many different forms and functions over its lifespan. And this period villa in Wiesbaden, Germany, which has been transformed into a high-end reception venue and meeting space, is no exception. Fully renovated and refurbished, the building has been given a bright, new contemporary look by design and consulting firm designfunktion Rhein-Main. High ceilings and large arched windows create a bright, airy atmosphere. The renovation project included the classic meeting rooms as well as the outdoor areas and some smaller indoor spaces. As a provider of holistic design services, designfunktion Rhein-Main drew on Thonet’s diverse range of tubular steel furniture for the redesign concept.

The villa’s two meeting rooms play with the contrast between light and dark. In the larger of the two spaces, a black conference table from the A 1700 table system series by Uwe Sommerlade takes centre stage on the oiled herringbone parquet flooring. This beautiful table, with innovative media technology, meets all the aesthetic and technical requirements of a modern workspace. Each of the legs are mounted on the outer edges of the tabletop and have an elegant teardrop shape that appears as a slim edge from the outside. For the seating around the table, designfunktion selected Mart Stam’s strictly cubic, chrome-plated S 43 cantilever chairs with stained black moulded wood seats and backrests. Mart Stam’s furniture designs revolve around utility and simplicity, which results in straight lines, a simple structure and optimum comfort. Black-and-white photographs arranged on the light-coloured walls pick up on the furniture’s striking colour.

Meanwhile, in the smaller meeting room that seats ten, the colour concept has been turned on its head. Here, light-coloured chairs made of tubular steel and beech have been set against a dark-brown wall. These versatile S 64 chairs take pride of place with their elegant Viennese canework in the seat and backrest. This material – a mainstay of Thonet’s portfolio – radiates warmth with its slightly iridescent honey tone. The cantilever chairs are light and delicate, allowing an unobstructed view across the room.

Beyond the large meeting rooms, two smaller rooms create the ideal setting for more personal conversations. The villa also features an inviting lounge area with a brown seating arrangement consisting of S 35 L armchairs and the S 5003 sofa. Marcel Breuer’s S 35 L design was the very first cantilever chair to be made out of a single continuous piece of tubular steel that also included armrests. The addition of leather coverings and wooden armrest strips creates a real statement piece. The S 5003 sofa and B 97 nesting tables also draw the eye with their light, airy look. Based on the archetype of the minimalist sofa with a frame of bent tubular steel, which was first added to the Thonet portfolio in the 1930s, designer James Irvine developed the S 5000 collection in 2006, creating a versatile furniture system for a variety of settings. The structured canvas is a particularly good choice for the generous seating cover and matches the brown hues of its surroundings.

For the villa’s piano room, two S 64 cantilever chairs and the S 179 bar trolley have been selected. In a collaboration with British gin brand Tanqueray, Sebastian Herkner created a new version of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s 1930s drinks trolley design. This limited special edition takes its design cues from the Tanqueray bottle itself: the upper surface of the trolley made of fluted glass in London Green, the bottle’s iconic red seal on the handle as well as many other details that elevate the chrome frame of the original.

Thonet’s tubular steel classics also feature in the villa’s outdoor spaces. On the covered terrace, the S 40 outdoor cantilever chair and the S 1040 table combine iconic tubular steel with seats, backrests and a tabletop made of iroko wood. With their stainless-steel frames, these tubular steel pieces make for great all-weather outdoor companions.