Garden Egg Chair (1967)
Inspired by Sputnik and spacesuits, Peter Ghyczy’s curvy chair heralded more than a new way of sitting. The plastics technology was illicitly sold to East Germany by a West German manufacturer.

Braun T1000 Radio (1963)
Dieter Rams spent a decade as design chief at the West German company Braun. The Braun T1000 exemplifies the modernist philosophy of rational design.

Messerschmitt Kabinenroller (1955)
The bubble car’s origins are far removed from its cartoon looks; here was wartime technology finding a peacetime context.

Ostankino Tower (model)
Representative of the competitive nature of Cold War architecture, the tower was the tallest free-standing structure in the world at 540 metres (1,772ft) when it was built in Moscow in 1967. The CN Tower in Toronto next claimed the crown.

Oasis 7 (full-scale reconstruction)
A giant inflatable environment designed by the Viennese architects Haus-Rucker-Co. A symbol of an era of mind-expanding visions, it was originally suspended on the exterior of the Fridericianum Museum in Kassel, West Germany, for the Documenta Art Fair in 1972.

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