Bureau on Wheels with Books 

This is Josef Hoffmann's sketch, "Bureau on Wheels with Books". Hoffmann was an Austrian architect and designer who co-founded the Wiener Werkstätte, the Vienna Workshop, in 1903. His work reflects the cultural milieu of early 20th century Vienna. The city was a hotbed of artistic and intellectual experimentation amidst the backdrop of a declining empire and rising social tensions. Hoffmann's designs responded to a desire for a new aesthetic that broke from historicism but, as we see here, maintained a strict geometry. This drawing, reminiscent of a Mondrian painting, shows how Hoffmann sought to create a functional yet aesthetically pleasing design. Consider what this says about modern life and domesticity. How is knowledge organised in the modern home? What is the role of women in maintaining it? It invites us to think about the intersection of form and function, and how design shapes our daily lives.