The Atlas of Furniture Design was published in November 2019 by the Vitra Design Museum as the most extensive book ever devoted to the history of modern furniture. With more than 1,000 pages, it documents 1,740 pieces by over 540 designers and contains more than 2,800 illustrations, including photographs of objects, design sketches, interiors, patents, brochures, artworks, architecture, and portraits of the creators.
The catalogue is based on the Vitra Design Museum collection, one of the largest of its kind worldwide, with around 20,000 objects, including more than 7,000 pieces of furniture. The Atlas brings together work by designers who have shaped the past 230 years and details all the significant stages in design history: from 19th-century bentwood and metal furniture, through Art Nouveau and Secession, to modernist icons such as Le Corbusier, Gerrit Rietveld, Charlotte Perriand, Marcel Breuer, and Eileen Gray. It also includes post-war, postmodern, and contemporary work by Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Gae Aulenti, Finn Juhl, Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, and Konstantin Grcic.
The book is the result of more than twenty years of research and was compiled by a team of over seventy authors. Alongside essays that place each work in its social and cultural context, the Atlas offers more than 550 detailed texts on pioneering objects and numerous information graphics that provide new visual perspectives on the evolution of furniture.
Additional resources include a complete appendix with designer biographies, bibliographies, a glossary of producers and materials, and a keyword index. These features make the Atlas an encyclopedic reference for collectors, academics, and experts, as well as a book design lovers around the world can treasure.
Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA, described the volume as “a treasure trove that offers not only definitive information about beloved staples of design history, but also new, fresh and often unexpected perspectives.” Mateo Kries, director of the Vitra Design Museum and co-editor, explained that the Atlas paints a portrait of the entire collection while providing an unprecedented overview of modern furniture history. The book explores subjects from the beginnings of industrialization to digitalization, which is becoming increasingly influential in contemporary design.
The Atlas can be read as a selection of iconic designs, a chronology of styles, a story of evolution or revolution, a history of objects or images, or a narrative about domestic habits or individual designers. It is also intended for readers who prefer to set aside complex theories and focus directly on each object.
The project was supported by Phillips, Knoll, Wüstenrot Foundation, Ikea Stiftung, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, Vitra, Design Circle, and Kobi Benezri Studio.
At a glance
Scope
Editorial reading; this is not a visit or a technical assessment.
Sources and references
Atlas of Furniture Design ↗ · 17/10/2026