Funny how a glimpse into someone else’s story inspires a person, isn’t it? Erwin Hauer has probably heard that for, well, a half century or so. With his Continua series of wall panels based on his very own original design in 1950, time (and great design) are truly of the essence.

Continua Series. Designed by Erwin Hauer. Manufactured by EHR Associates LLC.

Hauer’s Eight Continua Series of Wall Panel Designs Play with Light Diffusion and the Division of Space.

Hauer’s initial interest in architectural wall paneling systems began in the 50’s, when he started down the path of exploring infinite continuous surfaces. After teaching from 1957 to 1990 at Yale (upon the initial invitation of Josef Albers) this leader in the modular world of large-scale art and light-diffusing wall designs began working with his former Yale student, Enrique Rosado on EHR Associates LLC. Together, with Hauer’s expertise and Rosado’s post-university experience working for technology companies around the world, they fused to execute the Continua series of architectural surfaces using the advanced technology of today.

Together with Enrique Rosado, Hauer’s Continua screens find vitality through their newfound CNC-cut fate, using medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and stone or precast concrete and high-strength gypsum cement, instead of the solid masonry materials from complex molds. The panels can then be shop-fabricated in sizes up to 4 x 8 feet (1.2 x 2.4 meters). Larger sizes are available for custom ordering but are then assembled on site.

In eight different designs, the Continua series comes to life with modern digital technology that Enrique Rosado, a student of Hauer’s at Yale University, uses to relive the breakthrough of modern, modular, and infinite continous surfaces from the early 1950s.

About the Designer: Erwin Hauer is the inspirational Austrian-born American sculptor who made his way through Vienna’s Academy of Applied Arts and Yale, where he studied under Josef Albers. His studies and designs where influenced by his early involvement in the modular constructivism movement. Later, he made sculptures for public collections around the world. His recent notoriety comes from a partnership with Enrique Rosado of EHR Associates, LLC, where his famous, light-diffusing Continua series was re-released in eight designs.