Relaunch of the FSB 1138 by Dieter Rams
The rgs is back.

Relaunch of the FSB 1138 by Dieter Rams – the rgs is back.

“Simple is better than complicated, easy better than difficult, and the obvious better than the constructed…” Dieter Rams

Forty years after the Brakel door handle workshop, FSB is bringing back an unmistakable design by Dieter Rams. Thoughtfully updated for today, the company is also launching B2C Online-Shop for direct-to-consumer sales.

At what has since become a legendary door handle workshop by East Westphalian standards, FSB invited international designers to Brakel in 1986. The central question was: “Is it even possible to create new forms anymore?” Those invited to answer this question in practice included Hans-Ullrich Bitsch, Mario Botta, Peter Eisenman, Shoji Hayashi, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Alessandro Mendini, Dieter Rams together with his student Angelika Knoop, and Peter Tucny. Of the nine concepts developed, the designs by Hans Hollein, Alessandro Mendini, and Dieter Rams were added to the FSB product range.

Beginning in 1988, the FSB 1138 enriched the FSB portfolio with its distinctive clarity. The rgs (rams gray black) was manufactured using natural-finish aluminum and thermoplastic. While the aluminum was produced locally on Brakel’s Industriestrasse – as it still is today – the thermoplastic had to be sourced externally. Over time, however, the aging characteristics of the plastic no longer met East Westphalian quality standards, leading to the discontinuation of production in 2005.

Now, in 2026, to mark the 40th anniversary of the door handle workshop, FSB is bringing back this iconic classic. Revised and future-oriented, the entire lever handle is now manufactured locally in Brakel from aluminum. The gray tone of the rgs reappears in the new Aluminum Pure finish. These minimal interventions were carried out in close coordination with Dieter Rams – and the standards he set for his design back in 1986 continue to meet today’s requirements with ease.

The bold, rounded neck defines the pivot point of the FSB 1138. The grip features a clearly visible index-finger recess, while the slightly convex contact surfaces provide the necessary grip volume for comfortable handling. The FSB 1138 stands out through its clean form and unmistakably graphic contrast, and it is also available as a window handle in the same dimensions.

FSB is delighted to relaunch the rgs – a design that, even 40 years after its creation, is still regarded as groundbreaking. In doing so, the company aims, as stated in the original brochure, to “create a simple yet highly visible statement amid the general chaos of formal diversity.”

At the same time as the relaunch of the FSB 1138, the long-established Brakel-based company is launching a B2C Online-Shop in Germany featuring a curated selection of products, opening the door to the private home.

About FSB

For more than 100 years, FSB has produced door and window hardware exclusively in Germany. In Brakel, East Westphalia, we create coordinated products for every application, some crafted by hand, in a broad range of materials and finishes. Committed to the tradition of redesign, FSB has reinterpreted modern classics by Gropius, Wagenfeld, and Mies van der Rohe for today’s standards, while also offering numerous designs by renowned contemporary architects. FSB demonstrates its future readiness through innovation and sustainability, most recently with the resource-conscious Aluminum Pure finish.