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Object Timeline

1957

  • Work on this object began.

1965

  • Work on this object ended.

1970

1986

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2017

2026

Model RT 20 Radio Radio

This is a radio. It was designed by Dieter Rams and manufactured by Braun AG. It is dated 1961 and we acquired it in 1986. Its medium is metal, beech wood, plastic, electronic components. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.


Dieter Rams’s "Tischsuper" RT 20 was the last large-format table radio produced by German electronics manufacturer Braun. The piece bridges the gap between the domestic audio "furniture" of previous decades and the more technical aesthetic that came to characterize listening equipment. Simplicity dominates the device: its rectilinear shape is emphasized by the vertical dial and the horizontal speaker slits and its face is punctuated by minimalist knobs and gently scooped buttons that both invite and respond to the user’s touch.

This object was donated by Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor. It is credited Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.

  • Turntable (Germany)
  • maple wood, plastic, glass, metal.
  • Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.
  • 1986-99-10
  • RCS 9 Receiver
  • plastic, glass, metal.
  • Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.
  • 1986-99-12

Our curators have highlighted 1 object that are related to this one.

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 25.8 × 50 × 17.9 cm (10 3/16 × 19 11/16 × 7 1/16 in.)

Cite this object as

Model RT 20 Radio Radio; Designed by Dieter Rams (German, b. 1932); Manufactured by Braun AG (Germany); Germany; metal, beech wood, plastic, electronic components; H x W x D: 25.8 × 50 × 17.9 cm (10 3/16 × 19 11/16 × 7 1/16 in.); Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor; 1986-99-11

In addition to Art of Noise, this object was previously on display as part of the exhibition The World of Radio.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18621807/ |title=Model RT 20 Radio Radio |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 February 2026 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>