Rolf Heide

Rolf Heide - designer of the stacking bed

Rolf Heide (1932-2020) was a German interior and industrial designer. He was one of the most influential designers of German post-war modernism and became known in particular for his functional furniture designs, which were designed to be suitable for everyday use, easy to dismantle and structurally clear.

Rolf Heide grew up in northern Germany and completed a carpentry apprenticeship from 1950 to 1953. He then studied interior design at the Muthesius Werkschule in Kiel until 1957. After an internship in building construction and a short period working in a furniture store, he set up his own business in 1959. In the following years, Heide initially worked as a freelancer for magazines such as Brigitte, Schöner Wohnen and Architektur & Wohnen.

Together with the editorial team of Brigitte magazine, Rolf Heide developed the idea of selling demountable designer furniture by mail order in the 1960s. The aim was to offer functional and well-designed furniture that was easy to transport and store. It was in this context that the Stacking bed, a stackable bed made of plywood, was created in 1966. Rolf Heide described in a later interview that mobility, simplicity and a clear constructive logic were the central guiding principles of the design. The stackable bed is still produced by Müller Small Living (formerly Müller Möbelwerkstätten) to this day. Another well-known design from this phase is the sofa bench from 1969, which allows variable combinations and is also designed for easy packaging and transportability. Both designs are regarded as examples of Heide's consistently functionalist approach.

In the following years, Rolf Heide worked - sometimes exclusively - for various furniture and household appliance manufacturers, including bulthaup, Interlübke and Vorwerk. In addition to furniture, he also designed interiors as well as trade fair and exhibition designs. From the late 1980s, his focus increasingly shifted to corporate design, product catalogues and trade fair and exhibition concepts. As an interior designer, Rolf Heide was involved in the design of the Stilwerk design department stores' in Hamburg.

Rolf Heide's stacking bed is now regarded as a classic of German design from the 1960s. It exemplifies an understanding of design that combines function, reduction and suitability for everyday use and has stood the test of time for decades.