The Italian Designer Harry Thaler has been commissioned by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art “ Museion” in Bolzano (Italy) to rethink the interior design of the artist in residence studio and living space, which not only offers accommodation, but also workshop and study facilities for artists and curators hosted by the Bolzano museum. The furniture designed by Thaler for the studio house is inspired by the idea of flexibility, but also comfort and intimacy. Thaler describes the project: “When Letizia Ragaglia, director of Museion, asked me to design new furniture for the studio house, my first thought was that it had to be flexible.

The house is used by different people, who need to be free to move the furniture around as they wish: this is why all the pieces have castors. I also wanted it to be welcoming and have its own distinctive character, so my first idea was the sleeping box, a ‘house within a house’ to retreat to at bedtime. The same time of creating a hideaway also applies to the study: the desk has side walls that enclose the work surface and form a private, protected area. I used wood to break up the minimal feel of the architecture – the studio house is like a miniature white cube, with aluminium on the outside and all white inside. All the furniture will be made of pine. ”

The pieces of furniture designed by Thaler for the studio house are all one-off creations, made by the company Barth Innenausbau (www.barth.it) of Bressanone. Harry Thaler was adding a personal touch by finishing each piece himself.