#peter noever

At Commune, each of us has a shared title: designer. We gather ourselves from many different backgrounds, though we’re here to create together. This means we often find ourselves facing unfamiliar avenues… and down them we charge. It’s not a surprise then, that we tend to be immensely inspired by those whose creative endeavors embrace more than one concentration. Dagobert Peche is one of these people.  

Born in Vienna at the end of the 19th century, he came of age during a particularly experimental time and place. It was the foundational period of the Wiener Werkstatte; Peche was working alongside two of its giants: Wagner & Hoffmann. Though he practiced as an architect initially, Peche eventually began to produce decorative arts. His creative world seemed to explode from there. Metals, ceramics, textiles, furniture, and paintings all exuded from his creative force, and were crafted with a remarkable adherence to the technicalities of his architectural training.

We’re slightly obsessed with all that he produced and are sharing images here that we’ve collected from two sources: “Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte” by Peter Noever and the always incredible Metropolitan Museum Archive.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Image courtesy of Peter Noever, Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstatte, Hatje, 1998.

Dagobert Peche, Daphnis, 1922, Metropolitan Museum Archive

Dagobert Peche, Feather Duster, 1922, Metropolitan Museum Archive

Dagobert Peche, Nuance, 1922, Metropolitan Museum Archive

Dagobert Peche, Palatin, 1922, Metropolitan Museum Archive

Dagobert Peche, Palatin, 1922, Metropolitan Museum Archive

Dagobert Peche, Textile Sample circa 1902, Metropolitan Museum Archive

Dagobert Peche, Textile Sample circa 1920, Metropolitan Museum Archive

Design is intervention, is change.

Design raises questions. Design is goal-oriented action. Design sets things in motion. Design opens new spaces and perspectives. Design expands our perceptive faculties. Design is the source of and the grounds for a new reality and its possible imitation. Design allows us to partake in the archaic. For the first man was a designer! Design is universal. Each revolution has its own design, each designer is a revolutionary. Design in space is a culture’s most powerful statement against the void. Design in space is more than just a passive object in space. By establishing a space, design triumphs over the void. Design is a reflection of culture, is a genuine language of forms. Design is both principle and process. Design is always accompanied by a political impulse since it has an impact on the world and on the way it is experienced. Visions and Utopias may only become real in design! Design is an engine of reconciliation and connects the possible and the real. Design is transformation, is a metamorphosis of ideas into forms and figures. Design is a permanent process of searching, finding, and dismissing solutions. Design is thinking.