Rolf Fehlbaum
| Rolf Fehlbaum | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Rolf Fehlbaum April 6, 1941 Basel, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Alma mater | University of Freiburg |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Known for | Design company Vitra |
Rolf Fehlbaum (born April 6, 1941, Basel) is Chairman Emeritus and active Member of the Board of Directors of Vitra, a family-owned furniture company with headquarters in Birsfelden, Switzerland.
Rolf Fehlbaum, the eldest son of Willi and Erika Fehlbaum, was born in 1941 in Basel. After receiving his Matura diploma, he studied social sciences at the Universities of Freiburg i. Br. and later in Munich, Bern and Basel. He completed his academic studies in 1967 with a doctoral thesis, written under the supervision of Edgar Salin, on the topic of Saint-Simonism. Upon completion of his studies, Rolf Fehlbaum worked for a short time in his parents’ firm. In 1970 he moved to Munich to work as an editor and producer for the Bavaria Film Company and from 1973 to 1977 he was responsible for education and training at the Bavarian Chamber of Architects.
The Vitra Company, which was founded by Willi and Erika Fehlbaum as a shopfitting business, entered the furniture market in 1957 with the licensed production of furniture from the Herman Miller Collection – primarily designs by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson – for the European market. In 1967 the company introduced the Panton Chair by Verner Panton – the first cantilever chair out of plastic. In 1977 Rolf Fehlbaum took over the management of Vitra. In 1984 the partnership that had been formed with Herman Miller in 1957 was terminated by mutual consent. Subsequently, Vitra obtained the rights to designs by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for the Europe and the Middle East.
In 1981 a major fire strongly affected the development of the company. The reconstruction of the production facilities in Weil am Rhein led to the Vitra Campus. After the reconstruction of the site, a first public building on the campus was the Vitra Design Museum, initiated by Fehlbaum. Founded in 1989 and housed in a building by Frank Gehry, the museum is partly based on the own broad collection of 20th century furniture as well as host of visiting exhibitions.
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