With passion for Design and a mind full of Tech
It all started in Berlin Kreuzberg
mawa design was founded by Martin Wallroth in 1977. In the Kreuzberg-based company, he developed and produced objects for living spaces. In the following years, the one-man business expanded and established as a professional company. At this time, the designs often pioneered formative ideas in product design.
New German Design
The eighties popularised an understanding of and interest in design. mawa design therefore broke new ground. In cooperation with external designers, product ideas for everyday life could be created and quickly implemented thanks to the flexible structure of the company. The product range finds its customers mainly in the upmarket retail trade.
From interior accessories to lighting series
In addition to the standard product range, the company’s own metal-working manufactory also produces luminaires according to individual specifications. The first small series and unique pieces are produced, e.g. for the Federal Chancellery, the Ministry of Economics, the Corbusier House, the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin or for the Luther House in Wittenberg. Renowned companies such as BMW, Daimler Benz, Jil Sander, KaDeWe, Sony or The Conran Shop work with mawa design when it comes to first-class lighting. The products are characterised by high-quality materials and excellent workmanship. They can be found in important collections of museums all over the world.
Ground-breaking for the Microfactory
1997 marked a change of scenery for mawa design: the relocation to Langerwisch near Potsdam. The Palmhof, a listed building that has been completely renovated, offers enough room for all the manufactory’s work areas. It is conveniently located, not only tranquil in the countryside, but also Berlin and Potsdam can be reached within a short time.
Homage to sustainable design
At the end of 2001, mawa design once again drew attention to itself with an interesting exhibition. In December 2001, architect Axel Schultes opened the exhibition »Three Berlin Luminaires« in the rooms of the renowned Berlin furniture shop »Modus«. The pendant lamp »havanna« was presented in addition to the floor lamps »schliephacke« and »ssymmank«, which have already become classics.
The »havanna« opal glass luminaire was designed by Prof. Dr. Braun-Feldweg in 1959. mawa design had included it in its luminaire range as a re-edition. At the same time, »Die Havanna von Braun-Feldweg« by Dr. Th. Heyden was published by the publishing house Form in the series Designklassiker. With its timelessness and story, the »havanna« joins the »schliephacke« and the »ssymmank« as the third luminaire in the »Berlin Series« by mawa design.
Publications
Die Fünfziger Jahre haben zahlreiche zeitlose Designikonen hervorgebracht. Dazu gehören auch die Stehleuchte ssymmank und schliephacke, moderne Klassiker, die durchaus in einem Atemzug mit den berühmten Werken von Arne Jacobsen, Eero Sarinen oder Charles und Ray Eames genannt werden können. Die organische Leuchte des Scharoun-Assistenten Günter Ssymmank – mit ihrem Leuchtenkopf aus sechs bunt gefärbten Nylonblättern eine Sensation selbst für die fünfziger Jahre – steht mittlerweile im Museum of Modern Art in New York. Ganz anders die multifunktionale schliephacke des Architekten Fridtjof Schliephacke: mit ihrer reduzierten Designsprache knüpft sie unübersehbar an die Gestaltungstraditionen des Bauhauses an. Das Buch beinhaltet außerdem zwei Gastkommentare; Marcus Botsch über die schliephacke und Prof. Volker Albus zur ssymmank.
Verlag: jovis
Herausgeber: Martin Wallroth
Autor: Nora Sobich
havanna, mondello und tokyo – die hochwertigen Re-Editionen der Wilhelm Braun-Feldweg Leuchten aus der mawa design Hightechmanufaktur. Mehr Hintergrundinformationen gibt es in diesem wunderbaren Buch.
Download Buch Die Havanna – Pendelleuchten von Wilhelm Braun-Feldweg
Die Ausstellung »…alles kommt auf die Beleuchtung an…« zeigt drei Leseleuchten, die von den Werkbundmitgliedern Max Dudler und mawa design für Bibliotheken entworfen und entwickelt wurden: grimm, elle und potsdam. Eine gute Bibliothek zeichnet sich vor allem durch eine norm- und bedarfgerechte Beleuchtung aus. Licht trägt maßgeblich zu einer angenehmen Umgebung und damit zu einer hohen Aufenthaltsqualität bei, dient der Orientierung und Flächenstrukturierung und schafft optimale Arbeitsbedingungen für Nutzer:innen und Mitarbeitende. Die drei Leseleuchten werden nicht nur allen Anforderungen gerecht, sie vereinen zudem zeitloses Design mit technischer Innovation.
It is all because of Nils
Because of international orders, a growing assortment and increasing demand, the Palmhof has reached the limits of its capacity. Nils Holger Moormann, who has been a companion for many years, a veteran of the German furniture scene and a loyal friend of mawa design, calls a spade a spade: You need more space.
So, in 2012 a production hall is purchased. Sales and administration can spread out in the Palmhof. From now on, planners, designers, and technicians work in the village Seddiner See, ten minutes away.
However, the CNC machine tools multiply so quickly that an annexe is built after only five years. The company’s own lighting laboratory with Goniophotometer is set up under the roof of the new building made of overseas containers.
Green light for further growth
With the own design department, research and development, as well as an own lighting laboratory, the company is now one of the preferred partners of international specialist planners. mawa design has advanced from being an insider tip to a leading brand, especially in museums, libraries, sacred buildings and architectural monuments with minimalist lighting tools.
The significance of the company in the professional world is marked by a new branding with a distinctive logo. Here, too, the design principle is: less is more. And so, in 2017, the brand name is reduced to two syllables: mawa design becomes mawa. Only colour and attitude remain unchanged in green.
With the start of construction of a second hall in Seddin, mawa became even greener from 2020. The space gained will not be used to increase sales, but rather to produce even more resource-efficiently, more effectively: durable, long-lasting luminaires and systems.