product and furniture designer, born 1958, office in Frankfurt / Hesse

 

After graduating in design, Uwe Fischer was given a choice between the discipline of supplying the mass market and the arbitrariness of one-offs. He chose a middle route and joined up with a fellow student, Achim Heine, to launch Studio Ginbande– a project that (much like Andreas Brandolini) was to make some profound contributions to “New German Design” in the 1980s. The objects they created in that period amounted to his manifesto for the rethinking of objects of everyday use. Take for example their idea of folding furn i t u re that disappears into the floor, or their circular children’s sofa with inwardly dangling legs (now Anthologie Quartett). Probably their best-known design is the accordion-style table-and-benches set called Tabula Rasa, which can be extended from one-and-a-half to five metres inlength (now Vitra). For the German-Swiss manufacturer Vi t r a they also created the table system Nexus and a space-saving folding stool. Ginbande broke up in the early 1990s, but Fischer has continued designing furn i t u re and lamps. His rotating shell chair Sina (1999 for B&B Italia) has been a long-running hit on the market. Fischer, who has also created interiors for museums, trade fairs and restaurants and temporarily held a university chair in Interior Design, has always been interested in the architectural context of his creations and the centrality of light. For the lampmanufacturer Serien he developed not only the exalted hanging lamp Take Five but also the multi-purpose floor lamp Jones, which can be extended upwards for use as an uplight. This functional versatility is at first glance concealed by its sober design. The same is true of a new ceiling lamp in glass, also for Serien, which has a lightweight and sparse construction yet can be fitted, insect-proof, flush with the ceiling. Another strength of this model is the warmth of its illumination, achieved by a differentiated “mixed light”. The model comes in thirteen variations and is ideal for smaller rooms that require the right lighting from inconspicuous sources.