In the beginning were Swabian master craftsman Heinrich Schuhmacher and Japanese designer Toshio Odate. To make furniture according to their own notions, carpenter and architect Joachim Bürklein and his wife, architect Inge Hebeda, set up their own operation on a former farm. There, models are converted into prototypes one-to-one, from idea sketch to graphic fine-tuning on the computer, with individual elements repeatedly taken out and made in different variations until they approximate as closely as possible the original idea. “It is of existential importance to us to exert an influence on the design from start to finish, and to work directly with the chosen material”, explains Bürklein. Wood is the main material of choice, not least due to its sensuous qualities, but other materials such as acrylic, aluminium, steel and polycarbonate can also be found. One of their favourite material combinations is wood with white satinized acrylic glass, as seen in the sideboard, the nightstands and the Klippklapp chest of drawers. Raumwerk furniture can usually do more than first meets the eye: by folding out, twisting open, stacking, sliding – changes that can be carried out at a touch and open up unexpected functions. The Gästebett (Guest Bed, 2001), for example, is no run- of- the- mill ponderous sofa bed, but rather a transparent wood structure that can be folded up to create a bench. The concave surface thus formed serves for sufficient seating comfort. In the lightweight Postbett the underbed drawers are concealed from view by an “optical illusion”: They are behind the slats that are part of the frame, which at the same time serve as handles with which the hidden drawers can be slid out diagonally. The incisive structure of parallel slats, the fine oiled pearwood and the subtle detailing lend this piece its typical Raumwerk flair.