The Thonet Principle and the Bauhaus
The young Hungarian designer and Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer was one of the first to
experiment with the new material tubular steel in the mid-1920s.
He had requested tubular steel from the Adler bicycle factory to build a prototype; however,
his request was denied. The company was alienated by the “crazy idea” that an interior
designer would be inspired by his new Adler bicycle to pursue such a revolutionary idea.
Early on, Thonet recognised the potential of the impressive material and secured the rights to
the best designs by avant-gardists including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Mart Stam, Le
Corbusier and Marcel Breuer through its contacts with the Bauhaus in Dessau.
