Designer Herbert Hirche

Above: Aluminum and rosewood desk produced by Holzäpfel 

Herbert Hirsch (1910 – 2002)

Berlin Interbau Exhibition in 1957 showing a room of Hirche’s designs

Born in Görlitz Herbert Hirche moved to Berlin to study at the renowned Bauhaus School in 1932 and was, in fact, one of the last Bauhaus graduates before the enforced closure of the school by the Nazis in 1933.

After graduating Hirche worked in Mies van der Rohe’s studio and, interestingly, when Mies moved to the United States Hirche was invited to join him but chose stay in Berlin and subsequently joined the team of renowned German designer Egon Eiermann. After the war Hirche found work with the city of Berlin and joined the ranks of countless architects and designers in the mammoth task of rebuilding the German capital. Shortly thereafter, in 1948, he was appointed Professor of Applied Arts at the University of Applied Arts in Berlin-Weissensee. After working for various studios throughout Germany, Hirsche took up the position of Professor for interior and furniture design at the State Academy of fine arts in Stuttgart.

Herbert Hirche’s work is less known than that of his contemporaries but he was a pioneer who remains an important and influential figure in the story of the development of German industrial design with his own own unique minimalist vision.

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