The exhibition publication Innenräume, introducing the interiors featured in the
Weissenhof Siedlung Exhibition, includes a picture supplement of more than a hun-
dred pages, in which the interiors have been grouped into series, illustrating types of
spaces and furnishings as well as light fittings. The second part, consisting of short
articles, begins with Le Corbusier’s article “Die Innenausstellung unserer Häuser am
Weissenhof ” (Our Houses at Weissenhof ). He asks, “Was heisst Möblierung?”(What
is Furnishing?) Le Corbusier called for more functional and inexpensive furniture and
spoke in favour of standardisation. For example, by combining standard-size tables,
even a small flat could accommodate a large dining table, when necessary. Chairs and
the new concepts of seating were clearly of great interest to Le Corbusier. In his opin-
ion he was able to improve the furnishability of the experimental houses he designed
by using pocket doors and integrated cupboards. The Stuttgart Exhibition represented
a continuation of the themes that Le Corbusier had exhibited at his 1925 Pavillon de
l’Esprit Nouveau in Paris. He felt that the innovation in furniture design was primarily
founded on a new spirit and shared optimism, and only then on handmade prototypes,
followed by industrial production.^311
311 Le Corbusier 1928a, pp. 122–125.Fig. 2.2b. Alvar Aalto, Sven Markelius’ wife Viola Wahlstedt, Sven Markelius and an unknown
person. Photo No. 106265. AAM.