Arno Votteler

Arno Votteler (1929–2020) was a German designer primarily active in the field of office and contract furniture design. A pupil of Herbert Hirche—an architect regarded as one of the last heirs of the Bauhaus tradition—Votteler grounded his work in a rigorous functionalism of unmistakably German character. He began his professional career in 1952 at Walter Knoll in Herrenberg, which still keeps in production a lounge chair designed by him, characterized by a distinctly Mid-Century aesthetic. At the same time, he continued his studies at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, graduating in 1955, before embarking on an independent design career. This led him to collaborate over the years with various furniture manufacturers in Switzerland and Germany, as well as to provide design consultancy for major multinational companies such as BASF and Hapag-Lloyd. Academic activity also played a highly significant role in his life and career. He succeeded his mentor Hirche as professor of interior design at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, a position he held from 1975 to 1994. In 1959, he was also one of the seven founding members of the Verband Deutscher Industrie-Designer, the professional association of German designers, often considered the German counterpart of Italy’s ADI.