UNITY OF ART AND TECHNOLOGY : WILHELM WAGENFELD'S DESIGN.

Wilhelm Wagenfeld, the trailblazer of German industrial design, co-operated with Jenaer Glas in a special way. The two entered into one of the earliest liaisons between art and industrial technology. While the newly developed glass was resistant to temperature change and therefore for the fi rst time opened up the possibilities of using the same vessel for cooking, baking and storage in the refrigerator, Wagenfeld had an artistic vision of utility design. He wanted to see an aesthetic quality arising out of the universal functionality to which industrial production aspired. The result was a demand for products that not only suited people's needs but were also of prototypical beauty. The teapot designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld is still on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The historical development of design has given rise to a set of values that clearly demonstrates just how strong the connection between exceptional design and practical use has been right up to the present day. It is in according to this basic theme of unity of art and technology that we continue our work on Jenaer Glas.