A pioneering approach to product design cultivated in southern Germany 60 years ago is still having an impact today. The goal of Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm (HfG) – the Ulm School of Design – was to train designers for a new mass culture. 'From the coffee cup to the housing estate,' as Max Bill put it.
Along with his co-founders Inge Scholl and Otl Aicher, Bill – who designed the school building – championed an interdisciplinary and systematic approach to design education. The reputation of the Ulm Model quickly spread, and this way of teaching has since become universal.
Space units used as student accommodation at the Ulm School, designed by Herbert Ohl and Bernd Meurer, 1961.
As the rector Tomás Maldonado said: 'The HfG is not just a school where you are educated in a special subject; the HfG is more like a community whose members share the same intentions: bestowing structure and stability upon the world around us.'
From 1953 to 1968, the school’s progressiveness was so well-respected that its students were commissioned by two of the country’s major businesses. Braun and Lufthansa briefed undergraduates to create radical designs. Some of this modernist output is now on show in London’s Spitalfields at the Raven Row contemporary art gallery, which was itself designed by 6a Architects.
'The Ulm Model' – as the exhibition is also titled – has been designed by London practice David Kohn Architects, and features an eclectic mix of the students’ drawings, models and products including radiographs, weighing machines, traffic lights, petrol cans, bed frames and kitchenware.
Curated by Peter Kapos, lecturer at Camberwell College of Arts and director of Das Programm, a website selling classic Braun products, this is the first, overdue UK showing of the Ulm School’s iconic output.
Left: 'SK 4 Phonosuper, combined audio system', by Hans Gugelot, with Otl Aicher, Wilhelm Wagenfeld and Dieter Rams, for Braun, 1956. Right: 'TP 2, portable transistor radio and phonograph', by Dieter Rams, for Braun, 1959. Courtesy Braun P&G/Braun Collection, Kronberg
On-board tableware, setting and trays, prototypes, by Hans Roericht, for Lufthansa. Courtesy of HfG-Archiv/Ulmer Museum
'D 55' flexible exhibition system, by Otl Aicher, assisted by Hans Conrad, for Braud, 1955. Courtesy of HfG-Archiv/Ulmer Museum
The goal of the school was to train designers for a new mass culture – 'from the coffee cup to the housing estate', as co-founder Max Bill put it
'Plastic shell suitcases', by Dieter Raffler, with Peter Raacke for Hanning, 1965–66. Courtesy of HfG-Archiv/Ulmer Museum
Bookend, card files, desk organising items, letter rack, magazine rack, planters, stackable ashtrays, stamp holders, trays, by Walter Zeischegg, for Helit, 1966–c1970. Courtesy HfG-Archiv/Ulmer Museum
'Precision balance', by Gerda Müller-Krauspe, 1959–60. Courtesy of HfG-Archiv/Ulmer Museum
INFORMATION
’The Ulm Model’ is on view until 18 December. For more information, visit the Raven Row website
ADDRESS
56 Artillery Ln
London E1 7LS
-
The best Ruth Asawa exhibition is actually on the streets of San FranciscoThe artist, now the subject of a major retrospective at SFMOMA, designed many public sculptures scattered across the Bay Area – you just have to know where to look
-
Spend the night at architect Geoffrey Bawa’s former home in ColomboThe godfather of Tropical Modernism’s Number 11 residence now features a brand new guest suite furnished with the Sri Lankan architect’s very own curios
-
London’s best pizza restaurant gets a new home in MayfairSecure a slice of New York-style pizza in central London as Crisp Pizza teams up with the Devonshire pub to set up shop in the relaunched The Marlborough
-
Yuri Suzuki turns sound into architecture at Camden Arts ProjectsThe sound designer unveils ‘Utooto’, an interactive installation at London’s Camden Arts Projects (until 5 October 2025), in which visitors collaboratively build a sonic piece of architecture
-
Alex Tieghi-Walker unveils his plans for Brompton Design District 2025Ahead of London Design Festival 2025, we catch up with New York gallerist Alex Tieghi-Walker about his appointment as curator of the Brompton Design District programme
-
‘The point was giving ordinary people access to bold taste’: how Ikea brought pattern into the home‘Ikea: Magical Patterns’ at Dovecot Gallery in Edinburgh tells the story of a brand that gave us not only furniture, but a new way of seeing our homes – as canvases for self-expression
-
Design beyond humans: a new exhibition argues that the world doesn’t revolve around us‘More Than Human’ at London's Design Museum (until 5 October 2025) asks what happens when design focuses on the perspectives and needs of other species, from bees to seaweed
-
‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’: 1882 Ltd plate auction supports ceramic craftThe ceramics brand’s founder Emily Johnson asked 60 artists, designers, musicians and architects – from John Pawson to Robbie Williams – to design plates, which will be auctioned to fund the next generation of craftspeople
-
‘Disabled people have always been here’: a new V&A show centres on disability in designCurator Natalie Kane takes us through five key exhibits from the London show, where design points the way to a more inclusive society
-
Malta’s London Design Biennale installation ‘reclaims death as a moment of reflection, not fear’Wallpaper* speaks with Andrew Borg Wirth, curator of Malta's installation, ‘URNA’, which reimagines cremation rituals
-
11 things that caught our eye at Clerkenwell Design Week 2025The Wallpaper* team bring you highlights from London’s Clerkenwell Design Week (20-22 May) – from public installations to product launches and a biscuit bar
