Haefeli garden table

Max Ernst Haefeli (right) was a Swiss architect and one of the leading figures of the New Building movement in Switzerland; today he is regarded as one of the most prolific and influential designers of modern furniture. Born in Zurich in 1901, he studied architecture at ETH Zurich under Karl Moser and subsequently worked in Berlin for a short time. In 1925, he set up his own practice in Zurich and produced several furniture designs, such as an extendable dining table and a sofa-bed, which Embru developed for series production and manufactured.

Following his teaching role in the interior design class at the Zurich School of Applied Arts, Max Ernst Haefeli founded the architectural practice HMS Haefeli Moser Steiger in 1937, in connection with the construction of the Zurich Congress Centre, alongside Werner Max Moser and Rudolf Steiger. As part of this partnership, Haefeli was involved in the construction of the Cantonal Hospital from 1942 onwards, where he was responsible for the exterior and interior design. At the age of 74, one year before his death, he retired from professional life.

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