Willy Guhl was one of the most influential Swiss interior architects, furniture designers and product designers of his generation. Yet his legacy extends far beyond the objects and interiors he created. Throughout his career, he pursued an uncompromising search for simplicity in form, material and construction—principles that became the hallmark of his work.

As a lecturer in interior architecture from 1941 to 1980, Guhl inspired generations of designers and architects, many of whom carried his ideas forward in their own practice. His approach to design was never confined to the studio; it was deeply rooted in everyday life and reflected in the way he chose to live. Together with his wife Hilde, he furnished their modest home in Hemishofen according to the same principles of clarity, functionality and material honesty that defined his work.

The ai-s archive preserves documents relating not only to Willy Guhl’s work in interior architecture, but also to his longstanding contribution as a board member of the Schweizer Werkbund (SWB), the Vereinigung Schweizer Innenarchitektinnen und Architekten (VSI, now VSI.ASAI) and the Swiss Design Association (SDA). The collection also includes a small selection of furniture and domestic objects representative of his design work.

The archive further holds the works and personal papers of several of Guhl’s former students, including Verena Huber, Reni Shulman-Trüdinger, Paul Sumi, Rosmarie Vogt, Klaus Vogt and Hansruedi Vontobel. Together, these collections illustrate the lasting influence of Guhl’s teaching on subsequent generations of Swiss interior architects and designers.