Bernd and Hilla Becher were German photographers (who first met as art students during the 50s) who were famed for their photographic documentation of the then-fading industrial architecture in Western Europe and North America. This phase of architecture was pretty important as industrial buildings at that time were slowly disappearing but were still a pretty interesting kind of architecture that was more functional than aesthetic. These “anonymous structures” were immortalized in the couple’s photographs.

Designer: Studio Mieke Meijer

A Dutch design studio has now created a furniture installation series that was inspired by those photographs from the Bechers. The Industrial Archaeology Series pays tribute to these photographs as the designs for the furniture and the way they were put together is based on these industrial structures that they documented. The first in the series is the Gravel Plant 01, an installation of shelves and spaces made of different geometric shapes and sizes. They are both functional and decorative and can also be modular and put together to create an entire furniture system.

The Industrial Landscape 01 is a staircase installation at a gallery that is inspired by the landscape of olden days in quarry terrains where these industrial installations were the dominant structures. The design shows off actual stairs and shelves and containers, again with different shapes and sizes put together. There are stairs, shelves, drawers, and other spaces to place your decorations and stuff, also showing off a modular system that is decorative and functional.

These installations are meant to restore these functional designs from the industrial structures this time enabling them for “studying, collecting, and storing”. The furniture are made from wood and steel, and seem to be stable enough to hold all your items and in the case of the staircase, actual people. Each piece in the installations are hand made and detailed “with outstanding attention to industrial details and skilled craftsmanship.”