Development of school furniture in the 20th century

VS stands as a company for school furniture which has made history. This is true, for example, of the VS wooden skid chair developed in 1950, up to today the most copied school chair in the world. But even successors such as the steel skid chair and table from VS have long been established classics of school furniture.

Itself an important part of school-furniture history, VS used the company’s centenary in 1998 (trading on its foundation in 1898 under the name of Vereinigte Schulbankfabriken – United School Desk Factories) to present school-furniture design in the 20th century and pioneering school architecture in a comprehensive, permanent exhibition and to document this in an accompanying publication.

The central theme of the exhibition entitled “The Classroom – School Furniture in the 20th Century” is the examination of school furniture and its direct impact on the wellbeing of the child. The museum presents an international cross-section of the history and development of school furniture from the beginning of the 20th century up to the present day. Educational, ergonomic and above all historico-cultural aspects are also included in the exhibition. Pioneering school buildings of the past century are presented in parallel.

“Going to school together” – this description of the phase of schooldays that moulds a human being into a personality refers to the importance of an object which is indeed familiar to all but whose history and importance is less well-known.

VS has filled this gap with its school-furniture exhibition. Behind it also lies the company’s confession that long ignored school furniture deserves to be taken seriously in its specific development history and unexpected variety of design.

Our memories of our own schooldays come alive if we can find in the exhibition the very school furniture which – although once familiar to us every day – disappeared from our consciousness after we left school.