MOSCOW — Maxim Kashin Architects describes its Suprematist Bureau as an artistic furniture prototype developed for Hettich, manufacturer of furniture fittings.

Built as a visual demonstration of the possibilities provided by the Hettich, the Suprematist Bureau is 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.

"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," said Maxim Kashin, the founder and the chief designer of Maxim Kashin Architects. "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 added.

In approaching this project for Hettich, Kashin 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,” Kashin said. “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.”

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.