Maxim Kashin Architects, a practice dedicated to new and creative interior designs informed by complex concepts, is proud to unveil the Suprematist Bureau, an artistic furniture prototype developed for Hettich, a company founded in Germany in 1888 and an international leader in the manufacture and supply of furniture fittings.

Built as a visual demonstration of the endless possibilities provided by the Hettich products, the Suprematist Bureau is much more than a typical chest of drawers; it is a work of art that combines the principles of the Russian avant-garde movement with industrial fittings to create a three-dimensional model of form and functionality.

Ideological design 

"In the 1920s, Bauhaus ideologists advocated functional design and the fusion of art and industrial mass production. They worked on the principle of combining form and function," Maxim Kashin, the founder and the chief designer of Maxim Kashin Architects, explains. "This ideology can be seen in Hettich products that combine rationalism with a desire for new, unconventional, avant-garde solutions."

"I wanted to show the connection between the German Bauhaus rationalism and the Soviet VKHUTEMAS avant-garde, which was at the center of the intellectual development of pure geometry and suprematism," he adds.

Rather than just a typical piece of furniture, Hettich was seeking a functional art object that could demonstrate the many possibilities that their fittings provide. In response, Kashin endeavored to create a symbiosis of functionalism and Suprematism in an art object for his client.

New interpretations and applications

Maxim Kashin’s reimagining of suprematist space in the volume of the interior has guided his firm’s focus on suprematism’s infinite possibilities for interior design, blending the ideas of Russian masters with new applications of textural contrasts, forms, and functionalities.

He is particularly influenced by Kazimir Malevich, a revolutionary avant-garde artist whose pioneering work is credited with influencing the development of abstract art in the 20th century. Malevich’s vision of suprematism transitioned from a two-dimensional space ideology to three-dimensional volumetric forms known as “architectons”. While developed to promote a new style of architecture at the time, the movement was soon forbidden in Russian society and, as a result, there are few examples of its application. Today, the movement inspires Maxim Kashin’s visionary approach to interior design.

In approaching this project for Hettich, he applied his own interpretation of the Russian avant-garde, particularly suprematism, as an homage to the masters.

“More than 100 years later, I am driven by the challenge of demonstrating how suprematism can be applied to many types of design,” he says. “In combining the principles of avant-garde with Hettich fittings, the Suprematist Bureau shines a light on many different forms and functions that can be created for furniture.”

Form meets movement

As a starting point, Kashin began exploring the movement of seven Hettich fittings, envisioning all of the possibilities for movement and discovery. He then based the design on his own 3D interpretation of suprematism, which embraces simple geometric shapes to interpret the universe.

In concert with the Hettich products, each movement of a shape would provide a new form, demonstrating the infinite possibilities of geometrical transformation. He began with the concept of a square - a fundamental element of suprematism, with both horizontal and vertical movements infused to transform the object, both aesthetically and functionally.

Unhinged Suprematism

The Hettich fittings allow the Suprematist Bureau to transform from an art object to a fully functional furniture solution. At the core of the design, Hettich’s FurnSpin pivot mechanism provides unparalleled flexibility to the chest of drawers, enabling AvanTech YOU drawers to further enhance the object’s artistic movement and functionality courtesy of Actro YOU runners and Sensys hinges.

The structure of the Suprematist Bureau is made of walnut veneer. Inside, some of the drawers are finished in bright red paint, paying homage to a revolutionary period of Russian art, while other drawers feature innovative illumination to enhance functionality. And while enabling a symphony of movement, the Hettich fittings are largely invisible to the eye.

“Good fittings shouldn’t be visible, and designers want to create unique products that won’t expose the mechanisms behind their designs,” notes Kashin. “By concealing the fittings, the focus remains on the aesthetic and functional beauty of the object.”

An infinite future

Built as a one-of-a-kind promotional design tool, the Suprematist Bureau has been exhibited at shows across Russia, with plans in the works for a second art object to be developed for Hettich in the near future. Both pieces will eventually be exhibited in Hettich’s museum in Germany and will be used to inspire new furniture designs by Hettich customers worldwide, including Ikea.

Through a marriage of ideology and innovation, the Suprematist Bureau succeeds in being a functional work of art that showcases the infinite possibilities of the client’s products. With the help of Hettich fittings, suprematism is embodied not only in appearance but also in function, movement, and transformation.