Inspirational collaboration with guild school in Ebern | REHAU

REHAU chooses the winners of design competition for budding master joiners

20.04.2021

Carpenters and interior fitters are passionate about their craft. They breathe life into their furniture creations in their workshops. Wood still remains the most widely used material, but the industry is open to change. The mix of traditional and new material worlds, surprising material combinations and extra technical features are expanding the portfolio and opening up space for more freedom in design. A young generation is coming up through the joiner craft guilds and they see their future in the combination of tradition and innovation. As a manufacturer of edgebands and surface materials, REHAU sought to exchange ideas with these creative heads in the world of joinery. From this exchange, REHAU entered into an intensive collaboration with the guild school in Ebern that left both sides with much more than just inspiration.

20 budding master joiners from class 71 took part in the design competition, which was sponsored by REHAU in collaboration with the guild school in the Lower Franconian town of Ebern. The competition was an opportunity for the joinery specialists and managers of the future to put their creativity, presentation skills and craftsmanship to the test. “This is exactly the target group that has to reinvent their approach to creative interior finishing every day and overcome new challenges. This generation is open to new techniques and materials,” reports Hans Peter Mehnert, Director Product Management Furniture Components and Systems for REHAU’s Furniture Solutions division.

Presentation of drafts

Competition

“A big part of teaching design is about the basics of design and construction. This includes freestyle drawing, teaching form and color, spatial rendering and the design of furniture, interiors and construction elements,” says Stefan Andritschke, Dipl.-Ing (graduate engineer), interior architect and specialist design/construction teacher, explaining what his job involves. The idea to combine all these skills with one design competition was welcomed by all sides: the students had a specific brief, teachers had access to new materials and REHAU received affirmation that its high-tech materials can be creatively combined with traditional joinery materials.

There were three categories to choose from:

Standing and working in the home office
1 + 1 = 3 – two elements, three functions
Pocket-emptiers/hallway furniture

Entrants were tasked with designing a mobile, free-standing piece of furniture made using a combination of REHAU surface materials and solid wood, steel, aluminium, hardware and electronics that could be built in 40 workshop hours. All necessary materials were provided by REHAU. Christopher Markert, responsible for the contract business within the REHAU Furniture Solutions division, was on hand to provide advice and guidance to help participants during the design and implementation phase.

Designs and models were presented to a jury of teaching staff and REHAU employees eight school weeks after the competition began and just before the first lockdown. There was one winning design for each category which would then be built in the guild school’s workshop by groups, or at least that was the plan. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown and huge restrictions on in-person contact, finishing the exhibits was the real feat with access to the workshop being extremely restricted. “Here, the students showed that they are the experts of tomorrow and are well prepared as masters of organisation,” says Christopher Markert in his speech at the virtual award ceremony. “Thank you to everyone for the vibrant exchange, incredible teamwork and the time that the teaching staff and students invested in this project.”

The winners and their pieces

First place in the “Standing and working in the home office” category

The standing desk/workstation was made using filigree construction, intricately combining oak and brass pipes. The worktop was made from a mix of minerals and polymer glass laminate in the stylish Menta color. Small drawers on felt strips offer plenty of space for all the bits and pieces that come with working from home. A larger drawer in the middle provides space for papers.

Exhibit dimensions: Height: 1120 mm; width: 1390 mm; depth: 700 mm

Malte Hoppen

Born on 28 June 1990 in Westerland on the German North Sea island of Sylt
2005 Moves from Danish school on island of Sylt to Duborg-Skolen in Flensburg
2010 Abitur (German university entrance qualification) at Duborg-Skolen
2010–2011 Community service
2011–2014 Trains to become joiner at the Reimers-Freese solid wood joinery in Rüllschau/Maasbüll near Flenburg
02/2015 – 04/2019 Traditional journeyman years
09/2019 – 02/2021 Meisterschule für das Schreinerhandwerk Ebern (Guild school for joinery)

Malte Hoppen

First place in “1 + 1 = 3 – two elements, three functions” category

This sideboard-esque piece was made from a brass frame supporting two sliding boxes. The boxes are a real eye-catcher in any room due to their unusual surface design. The combination of high-gloss and matt surfaces using RAUVISIO crystal Piano, implemented through modern inlay work, form the piece’s unique shell. Both boxes are mitred and mounted on conventional drawer guides, allowing them to be moved out to the left and right. This, in turn, unlocks the third function: a fold-out bench between the boxes inviting you to take a break.

Exhibit dimensions: Height: 1020 mm; width: 1200 mm; depth: 400 mm

Sina Sarah Hitschmann

Born on 15.03.2000 in Böblingen
2006–2015 School education in Stätzling-Derching
2015–2016 Foundation vocational school year in wood technology
2016–2018 Trains to become a joiner at Segmüller
2018–2019 Joiner at Segmüller
09/2019 – 02/2021 Meisterschule für das Schreinerhandwerk Ebern (Guild school for joinery)

Sina Sarah Hitschmann

First place in “Pocket-emptiers/hallway furniture” category

This hallway furniture design plays with the contrast between old and new by combining an old beam from a timbered house with modern REHAU products. Gaps cut out of the raw beam using a chainsaw are used to mount linear boxes and shelves with extreme precision. These provide storage for items frequently found in an apartment entrance.

Exhibit dimensions: Height: 2000 mm; width: 950 mm; depth: 760 mm

Lukas Weß

Born on 18.08.1995 in Fulda
2001–2006 Primary education in Monte Kali
2006–2012 Secondary education at Wernher-von-Braun Schule in Neuhof
2012–2013 Training at Schreinerei Koch joinery
2013–2019 Journeyman at Schreinerei Will joinery
2019 Journeyman at Zeitlos in Holz joinery
09/2019 – 02/2021 Meisterschule für das Schreinerhandwerk Ebern (Guild school for joinery)

Lukas Weß

After three semesters and one-and-a-half years of full-time training, the journeyman joiners in Ebern receive their title of master. Short-course students are intensively prepared for their careers in management positions in trades businesses or for running their own businesses. The focus of the training lies on sophisticated, market-oriented product design, modern and efficient production techniques and efficient business/employee management.

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