Suomessa funktionalismin edelläkävijöitä olivat 1920-luvun nuoren polven arkkitehdit Alvar Aalto, Erik Bryggman, P. E. Blomstedt sekä Hilding Ekelund. Turusta tuli uuden suuntauksen tukikohta, jonka 700-vuotisnäyttelystä Alvar ja Aino Aalto sekä Bryggman tekivät modernismin manifestaation. Aallon suunnittelemat ensimmäiset toteutuneet funktionalistiset rakennukset olivat Turun Sanomien toimitalo (1928–1930) ja niin sanottu Standardivuokratalo Turun Läntisellä Pitkäkadulla (1927–1929) Aallon myöhemmät rakennukset, kuten Paimion parantola (1929–1933), Viipurin kirjasto (1935) ja Villa Mairea (1938–1939), olivat suomalaisen arkkitehtuurin kansainvälisen menestyksen kulmakivinä.

Furniture

By using machines and industrial materials, it became possible to make simple, functional and aesthetic products. A typical example of Functionalism in the art of home interiors, is the ‘floating’ or cantilever tube chair. The chair is strong, lightweight and cheap to produce. Mart Stam and Marcel Breuer particularly played an important role in the development of the tube chair.

Gispen

Alvar Aalto is one of the representatives of functionalism in the Netherlands. W. H. Gispen (1890-1981) was a Dutch industrial designer. Gispen first got inspired by the ideas of Functionalism via his contact with architect J.J.P. Oud of the De Stijl movement. The latter made sure that the Gispen’s Giso lamps became famous internationally by hanging them in the houses that he designed. The Gispen factory in Rotterdam (later Culemborg) started producing steel tube furniture in 1927. Gispen became a pioneer in the area of industrial design and furniture design. To this day, Gispen furniture and lamps are made in the factory in Culemborg and they are sold at Art Deco Web Store.

Functionalism at Art Deco Web Store

Art Deco Web Store has various functionalist pieces of furniture in her collection, particularly pieces by Gispen. The pieces of magnificent, high-quality furniture have grown into timeless classics. The well-known, chrome tube chair can come with or without armrests. To match these chairs, there are the stylish tea tables that come with chrome tubes and glass plates. Glass and steel are two well-known Functionalist materials. The Viggo Bauhaus chair and couch also have the characteristic tube frame; completely in the style of the Modernist Movement.