Ei-Ei-Eoos

-- Interior Design, 1/1/2001 12:00:00 AM

IN 1995, Martin Bergmann, Harald Gründl, and Gernot Bohmann, the three founding members of the Austrian design firm EOOS, decided to pool their talents and collaborate in the design process after graduating from the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna. "Our name refers to one of the four sun horses in Greek mythology," says Bohmann. "It stands for our programmatic approach to the field of design." For four years, EOOS has designed furniture, products, and architectural spaces throughout Europe with much recognition. Recently, they have infiltrated the North American market thanks to the innovative eye of two company presidents. First was Mike Keilhauer of the Canadian company Keilhauer, the only North American manufacturer to work with EOOS on designing and developing products. Then came M2L, whose founder Michael Manes brought EOOS into the United States by importing pieces from Matteograssi, Walter Knoll, Mabeg, and Artelano. "I discovered EOOS four years ago at Cologne," says Manes. "I thought that they would be the next great stars of design. They have their own classic modern style; they don't just design furniture, they create pieces that have incredible function with beautifully engineered hardware that is very precise."

According to Bohmann, the three partners design everything together as soon as the direction becomes clear. "We always start with a poetic analysis," he says. "As soon as we find a word or a sentence or a picture, the project seems to go its own way. Although we work at the same time on the same things, at the end the result seems like the fourth person." That fourth person can be seen here in Keilhauer's Branden series, including the lounge chair; Mabeg's Conlight table; Matteograssi's Derby; Walter Knoll's Scoop; and Artelano's Long Beach, based on a series of rotating glass panels. (These last four products are available in the U.S. through M2L.)

Keilhauer, 1450 Birchmount Road, Scarborough, Ontario M1P 2E3, Canada.

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M2L, 979 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

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