Konstantin Grcic Opens 'Streetwise' at Deutsches Design Museum, Critiques German Industry

In mid-2026, Konstantin Grcic, an industrial designer, unveiled 'Streetwise' at the Deutsches Design Museum in Berlin, featuring prototypes and unsuccessful concepts from his collection. At 61, Grcic boasts a thirty-year career filled with bestsellers and established the furniture brand 25kg in 2025, relocating to a larger studio in Schöneberg. He launched his studio in 1991, managing monthly expenses of 1,500 deutschmarks. A pivotal moment in his career came from consistent projects with a kitchen-appliance firm, which he departed after four years due to dissatisfaction. Grcic admires postwar Italian manufacturers and critiques the sluggishness of the German industry. He embraces challenges, creating temporary public furniture and emphasizing the importance of the iterative design process, which 'Streetwise' illustrates.