Griffwerk is a handle and glass door manufacturer located next to the Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm or also known as the HfG Ulm. Founded 1953 by Otl Aicher, Inge Scholl and Max Bill, HfG Ulm became of the most important colleges of design after the Bauhaus. And it’s not an coincidence that the famous Ulmer handle by Max Bill is produced by Griffwerk.
The company approached us with an innovation and specific task. They developed a new gluing technique to mount handles to glass sliding doors without the need of screws or cutouts. Therefore they defined a basic square profile with the minimum requirements for this new gluing technique. The task was to develop three more handles, L-profile C-profile grips and a push handle, based on this requirements. This maybe sounds simple but this are the most common and already seen industrial profiles on the market. How to design such simple shapes so they don’t look common, clumsy or industrial? First it was important for us to understand the background of the company and their approach, so we visited the HfG Ulm together. In the first meeting it was quite clear for us that we need to keep the profiles simple, filigree and elegant. Based on the received specifications we developed a logic and grid to work with, similar to the approach of the “Ulmer Schule”. With this grid, small radios and modest angles we have been able to develop the handles which have been presented at the Bau 2017 in Munich.
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Material
aluminium extrusion
graphite black
Dimensions
L-Profile 600 x 25 x 27 mm
C-Profile 600 x 25 x 29 mm
I-Profile 600 x 11 x 18 mm
Handle 450 x 29 x 54 mm
PLANEO GS 49011
PLANEO GS 49012
PLANEO GS 49013
PLANEO GRIFFSTANGE LUCIA GST
