The new exhibition at >Werkbund Archiv< presents the estate of Herbert Hirche (May 20, 1910—January 28, 2002) and commemorates the architect and designer as an influential Werkbund member of the post-war period.On the one hundredth anniversary of Herbert Hirche’s birth, the Werkbundarchiv displays drawings, sketches, plans, letters and photos that afford new insights into Hirche’s life and work. For the first time, a selection of Hirche’s furniture creations will be accompanied by works from his years as a student at the Bauhaus under Kandinsky and Mies van der Rohe, early furniture designs from the 1940s and 50s, and unproduced design variations of the legendary Braun HF 1 television set — Herbert Hirche was one of the pioneers of the internationally successful Braun design.Just as Erwin Braun conceived his products as “silent helpers and servants,” Hirche intended his simple furniture and buildings to afford people the greatest possible freedom. The title of the exhibition, “brilliant grey,” is hence a metaphor for the objectivity and neutrality of Hirche’s designs, as well as for their discreet elegance. The exhibition “brilliant grey” juxtaposes Hirche’s historic designs with their legacy in current products: Hirche’s furniture pieces, some of which had only been produced as prototypes and were all but forgotten, have been manufactured and marketed as “classics” in recent years.