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Luther and Isokon – pioneers of plywood and architecture

Habitare’s new exhibition, Luther and Isokon, will bring London and Tallinn to the event. The exhibition presents furniture designs and architecture by A.M. Luther and Isokon. In addition it celebrates the centenary of the renowned Bauhaus art school.

The exhibition presents the individuals behind the famous British 1930s Isokon building, and its many famous residents, amongst them the founders of Bauhaus art school. The exhibition also includes modernist plywood furniture designed by masters of the Bauhaus for the Isokon Furniture Company and manufactured by the Estonian plywood maker A. M. Luther, resulting in some of the most significant pieces of 20th century furniture designs.

The exhibition was founded by Estonian Association of Designers (EAD). EAD together with Isokon Gallery in London combined the exposition with plywood furniture objects from Tallinn. The Luther and Isokon exhibition was first time shown at previous Tallinn Design Festival DISAINIÖÖ an has since travelled to Helsinki through Marseille Le Corbusier House and London Covent Garden.

 “It is fascinating to discover the history of modernism and international cooperation between Estonia, UK and Finland – all connected to innovative use of plywood. The connections between Bauhaus and Isokon opened the way for experimental urban furniture. It is quite an unknown fact that the moisture-resistant adhesive for plywood was invented in Tallinn. Estonian Association of Designers is proud to present the Luther-Isokon exhibition in the country, which has plywood it’s genes,” says Ilona Gurjanova, President of Estonian Association for Designers.

The exhibition also celebrates the centenary of the renowned Bauhaus art school. The most well-known residents of the Isokon building in the 1930s include the founder of the Bauhaus art school, Walter Gropius, and the school’s professors Marcel Breuer and László Moholy-Nagy, all three who came to work for the Isokon Furniture Company while living in London.