Fejér, George 1912 - 1996

George Fejér was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1912. In 1931 he entered the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zürich where he trained as architect under Otto Rudolf Salvisberg and William Dunkel.  Having completed his architectural studies he pursued a postgraduate course and submitted a thesis on thermal insulation in translucent constructions. In 1937 he went back to Hungary and over the next two years worked with the architect Lajos Kozma and assisted his father in his interior and antiques business.  In 1939 Féjer returned to Zurich. Continuing his research into translucent constructions he invented a new translucent material which he called 'Iso-lumen' and later that year visited England where he showed the material to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. He was subsequently allowed to stay in the UK.  In 1940 Is-lumen was manufactured by Pharoah-Gane & Co. Ltd. who employed Féjer as a consultant. The material was used for repairing bomb damage.  After the factory at which Iso-lumen was itself destroyed by bombing, production ceased and Féjar decided to pursue a career in industrial design. He also began writing articles on plastics and design.

Between 1943-47 he worked for the Selection Engineering Company on the design of huts for the armed forces and prefabricated buildings (the Uni-Seco prefabs) A photograph of the kitchen in a Uni-Seco prefab is illustrated in 'Decorative Art' 1943-48 (p.58). In addition he designed unit furniture for the 'Britain Can Make It' at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 1946, and worked for Venesta, a manufacturer of plywood products, from 1946-49.

For the Festival of Britain in 1951 he designed the Plastics, Rubber and Commerce sections for the Power and Production pavilion.    Among projects in which Fejér was engaged during the latter part of his career were the redesign of the counter dispenser for a range of dress shields manufactured by the I.B. Kleinert Rubber Co., the 'Mother Hubbard' kitchen cabinet designed by George Fejer for Hygena, a scooter for Buckhouse & Co., and window and exhibition displays. From the 1950s onwards he was a designer and design consultant for several companies including the kitchen manufacturers Hygena Ltd. (1954-72); the holloware and tools manufacturers Crown Merton (1955-72); the white goods manufacturers AEI Hotpoint (1959-61); the bedroom and kitchen furniture manufacturers Boulton & Paul (1987-89); and for the manufacturers of bathroom fittings Ideal Standard(1989-92).

Fejér was a Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers (FSIAD), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.  He lived in Wimbledon, London for many years and died in January 1996.

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Worked in
Hungary
UK
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