Mid-Century Modern

MID-CENTURY

MODERN M O DERN

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHARLES AND RAY EAMES 4 EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR AND OTTOMAN 6

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34 TULIP COLLECTION

EAMES ALUMINUM GROUP CHAIRS 8

36 WOMB LOUNGE CHAIR AND OTTOMAN

EAMES MOLDED PLYWOOD CHAIR 10

38 EXECUTIVE CHAIR

EAMES MOLDED PLASTIC ARMCHAIR 12 EAMES ELLIPTICAL TABLE 14

ARNE JACOBSEN 16

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EERO AARNIO 20

44 NELSON MARSHMALLOW SOFA 46

GREATEST DESIGNERS OF THE OF THE MID-CENTURY ERA BY JIMMY MORRISSEY

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LE CORBUSIER

52 LC2 COLLECTION

BARCELONA CHAIR 26

FLORENCE KNOLL 28

ISAMU NOGUCHI

48 NOGUCHI TABLE

BALL CHAIR 22

LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE 24

GEORGE NELSON

42 NELSON COCONUT CHAIR

EGG CHAIR 18

A COLLECTION OF FURNITURE CLASSICS FROM THE

EERO SAARINEN

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VERNER PANTON

56 PANTON CHAIR

FLORENCE KNOLL LOUNGE COLLECTION 30 3

CHARLES AND RAY EAMES W

evolved over time, not overnight. As Charles noted

Ray Eames turned their curiosity and boundless

about the development of the Molded Plywood

enthusiasm into creations that established them

Chairs, “Yes, it was a flash of inspiration,” he said,

as a truly great husband-and-wife design team. Their

“a kind of 30-year flash.” With these two, one thing

unique synergy led to a whole new look in furniture.

always seemed to lead to another. Their revolutionary

Lean and modern. Playful and functional. Sleek,

work in molded plywood led to their breakthrough

sophisticated, and beautifully simple. That was and

work in molded fiberglass seating. A magazine

is the “Eames look.” That look and their relationship

contest led to their highly innovative “Case Study”

Charles and Ray achieved their monumental success

with Herman Miller started with molded plywood

house. Their love of photography led to film making,

chairs in the late 1940s and includes the world-

including a huge seven-screen presentation at the

renowned Eames lounge chair, now in the permanent

Moscow World’s Fair in 1959, in a dome designed

the same way: Does it interest and intrigue us?

collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

by their friend and colleague, Buckminster Fuller.

They loved their work, which was a combination of

Graphic design led to showroom design, toy

art and science, design and architecture, process

collecting to toy inventing. And a wooden plank

and product, style and function. “The details are

contraption, rigged up by their friend, director

not details,” said Charles. “They make the product.”

Billy Wilder for taking naps, led to their acclaimed

A problem-solver who encouraged experimentation

chaise design. A design critic once said that this

among his staff, Charles once said his dream was

extraordinary couple “just wanted to make the world

“to have people working on useless projects. These

a better place.” That they did. They also made it a

have the germ of new concepts.” Their own concepts

lot more interesting.

by approaching each project

CAN WE MAKE IT BETTER? WILL WE HAVE “SERIOUS FUN” DOING IT?

4

ith a grand sense of adventure, Charles and

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EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR AND OTTOMAN HERMAN MILLER • 1956

Who doesn’t recognize the Eames lounge chair and

its public debut on Arlene Francis’s Home show, a

ottoman? It lives in museums like MoMA in New York

predecessor of the Today show. Commenting on the

and the Art Institute of Chicago, in stylish interiors

unique design, Charles Eames told Francis, “We’ve

everywhere, and as a tattoo on a devotee’s arm.

never designed for a fashion, and the Herman Miller

It has been the subject of documentary films and

furniture company has never, ever requested that we

books. It even has its own fan website. Calling it

do pieces for a market.” During the interview, a short

va classic is an understatement. It’s the quintessential

film was shown in which a man--Charles described

example of mid-century design—elegant and

him as “a typical Herman Miller employee”--

profoundly comfortable too.

assembled and disassembled the lounge chair, showing how simple the design was.

The first Eames lounge chair and ottoman was

6

made as a gift for Billy Wilder, the director of

Francis ended the segment by quoting something

“Some Like It Hot,” “Irma La Douce,” and “Sunset

she said she had read about Charles and Ray:

Blvd.” The heritage of the chair goes back to the

“The Eameses’ desire to move freely in a world of

molded plywood chairs pioneered by the Eameses

enormous and unlimited possibilities is combined with

in the 1940s. Charles Eames said his goal for

a very accurate sense of discrimination and taste. It’s

the chair was that it be “a special refuge from the

an ability to select among the unlimited possibilities

strains of modern living.” The first lounge chair and

and return considerable richness to the world.”

ottoman produced by Herman Miller, in 1956, made

Starting at $3,899 • hermanmiller.com CHARLES AND RAY EAMES

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EAMES ALUMINUM GROUP CHAIRS HERMAN MILLER • 1958

Among the buildings Eero Saarinen designed in

named these the Soft Pad chairs. The chairs’ simple

Columbus was J. Irwin Miller’s home. Saarinen

lines, innovative use of materials, and suspension

wanted a high-quality seating product for outdoor

comfort have kept the Aluminum Group and Soft

use at the home and asked Charles and Ray

Pad chairs among the most popular seating choices

Eames to develop one. The Eameses accepted the

for offices and homes.

challenge. Known for their honest use of materials, the Eameses constructed their chairs with cast

It’s a trick only Charles and Ray Eames could pull

aluminum and a seat frame that would support a

off: Chairs designed in 1958 as outdoor seating

stretched synthetic mesh. The seat-back suspension

still look classic and contemporary in 21st century

they developed was a major technical achievement

interiors. The chair’s clean, curvilinear lines

and represented a departure from the concept of the

enhance any décor and work well in your home

chair as a solid shell.

office, dining area, and living room. Available in fabric or leather, these Eames chairs are equipped

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The Aluminum Group chairs were made for indoor

with an innovative suspension that creates a firm,

use in 1958, and they have been in continuous

flexible “sitting pocket.” It conforms subtly to your

production ever since. The original mesh was

body’s shape and maintains your comfort. With an

discontinued shortly after its introduction in favor

aluminum frame and base, the chair is strong, yet

of fabric and leather, ribbed at 1 7/8-inch intervals

lightweight and easy to move. Earth-friendly, too:

for a clean, refined appearance. In 1969, the

made of 67 percent recycled materials and 90

Eameses extended the original design by adding

percent recyclable at the end of its useful life.

plush, individually upholstered cushions. They

Starting at $1,749 • hermanmiller.com CHARLES AND RAY EAMES

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EAMES MOLDED PLYWOOD CHAIR HERMAN MILLER • 1946

Designers Charles and Ray Eames established their

When the war was over, Charles and Ray applied

long and legendary relationship with Herman Miller

the technology they had created to making

in 1946 with their boldly original molded plywood

affordable, high-quality chairs that could be mass-

chairs. The aesthetic integrity, enduring charm, and

produced using dimensionally shaped surfaces

comfort of the chairs earned them recognition from

instead of cushioned upholstery. When they found

Time magazine as The Best Design of the 20th

that plywood did not withstand the stresses that

Century. Time called the design “something elegant,

occurred where the chair seat and back met, they

light and comfortable. Much copied but never

abandoned their original single-shell idea in favor

bettered.” (A locomotive came in second.)

of a chair that had separate molded-plywood panels for the back and seat. The process eliminated the

The story behind the Eames molded plywood chairs

extraneous wood needed to connect the seat with

makes clear just how big a role imagination and

the back, which reduced the weight and visual

serendipity play in design. In the early 1940s, when

profile of the chair and established a basis for

Charles Eames was working on MGM set designs,

modern furniture design. Sculpting a seat and back

he and his wife, Ray, were experimenting with

to fit the contours of the human body, they designed

wood-molding techniques that would have profound

a truly comfortable chair that’s suitable

effects on the design world. Their discoveries led to

for businesses and homes.

a commission from the US Navy to develop plywood

Starting at $679 • hermanmiller.com

splints, stretchers, and glider shells, molded under heat and pressure, that were used successfully in World War II. 10

CHARLES AND RAY EAMES

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EAMES MOLDED PLASTIC ARMCHAIR HERMAN MILLER • 1948

Several models of the molded plastic chairs, including

the most extensive tooling challenge. Development

the armchair, were designed as entries in a contest

took about three years, and our initial 1950

sponsored by New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

production run was 2,000. These chairs had shells

The “International Competition for Low-cost Furniture

made from fiberglass in polyester resin. Herman Miller

Design” was intended to spur the development of

changed the composition to a more environmentally

well-designed, low-cost furnishings for the post-war

responsible material—100 percent recyclable

housing boom. The introduction to the competition’s

polypropylene, dyed throughout so the colors are

catalog put it this way:

integral and remain vibrant even after many years.

“To serve the needs of the vast majority of

The armchair was first offered with the rocker

people we must have furniture that is adaptable

base and two others that are no longer in production.

to small apartments and houses, furniture that

The “Eiffel Tower” base came later, after a lot of

is well-designed yet moderate in price, that is

experimentation with steel rod construction and

comfortable but not bulky, and that can be easily

stability spacers. Over the years, Herman Miller

moved, stored, and cared for; in other words,

has worked at finding ways to improve the chair

mass produced furniture that is planned and

bases, to make them more stable and durable and

executed to meet the needs of modern living.”

able to withstand hard use over time. Starting at $349 • hermanmiller.com

Following its introduction at the MoMA exhibit, the armchair was chosen as the first chair to go into production because mass producing it presented 12

CHARLES AND RAY EAMES

13

EAMES ELLIPTICAL TABLE HERMAN MILLER • 1951

In 1951, having perfected a manufacturing technique for

a striking stage for displaying mid-century fat lava vases,

welding wire-rod bases, Charles and Ray Eames decided

fresh flowers, magazines, or a special book in a living

to bridge two bases with a dramatically shaped top large

room, waiting room, reception area, or executive lounge.

enough to hold a variety of items and fit comfortably

Finished in either black or white laminate, the table makes

with a long sofa or several chairs. They considered

a strong and beautiful statement wherever it is.

many shapes. In the end, did they take their inspiration

Starting at $649 • hermanmiller.com

from the surfboards they doubtless saw frequently, given the commanding view of the Pacific Ocean from their California home and studio? They never said, but people often refer to this piece as the “surfboard table.” Whatever you call it, the elliptical table makes it clear that good design never goes out of style. The elliptical table’s 89 inches of surface length provide an expansive arc that lets you spread out or display items--a lot or a few. The tabletop consists of a seven-ply Baltic birch core sandwiched between high-pressure black or white laminate. The edge is beveled on a 20-degree angle to give the top added emphasis. With its long, low profile, the Eames elliptical table sits dramatically in front of a long sofa or in the middle of a chair grouping. It sets 14

CHARLES AND RAY EAMES

15

ARNE JACOBSEN A

rne Jacobsen bought a plywood chair designed

First among Jacobsen’s important architectural

by Charles Eames and installed it in his own

commissions was the Bellavista housing project,

studio, where it inspired one of the most

Copenhagen (1930-1934). Best known and most

commercially successful chair models in design

fully integrated works, are the SAS Air Terminal and

history. The three-legged Ant chair (1951) sold in

the Royal Hotel Copenhagen for which Jacobsen

millions and is considered a classic today. It consists

designed every detail from sculptural furnishings such

of two simple elements: tubular steel legs and a

as his elegant Swan and Egg chairs (1957-1958) to

springy seat and back formed out of a continuous

textiles, lighting, ashtrays and cutlery.

piece of plywood in a range of vivid colors. During the 1960’s, Jacobsen’s most important work

A pastry usually tastes better

IFin fact-there IT LOOKS NICE is nothing I mind AS LONG AS IT LOOKS NICE

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Jacobsen began training as a mason before studying

was a unified architectural and interior design scheme

at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts, Copenhagen

for St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, which, like his

where he won a silver medal for a chair that was then

earlier work for the Royal Hotel, involved the design

exhibited at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des

of site-specific furniture. Jacobsen’s work remains

Art Decoratifs in Paris. Influenced by Le Corbusier,

appealing and fresh today, combining free-form

Gunnar Asplund and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,

sculptural shapes with the traditional attributes of

Jacobsen embraced a functionalist approach from the

Scandinavian design, material and structural integrity.

outset. He was among the first to introduce modernist ideas to Denmark and create industrial furniture that built upon on its craft-based design heritage.

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EGG CHAIR

FRTIZ HANSEN • 1958 Arne Jacobsen designed the Egg for the lobby and reception areas in the Royal Hotel, in Copenhagen. The commission to design every element of the hotel building as well as the furniture was Jacobsen’s grand opportunity to put his theories of integrated design and architecture into practice. The Egg is one of the triumphs of Jacobsen’s total design - a sculptural contrast to the building’s almost exclusively vertical and horizontal surfaces. The Egg sprang from a new technique, which Jacobsen was the first to use; a strong foam inner shell underneath the upholstery. Like a sculptor, Jacobsen strove to find the shell’s perfect shape in clay at home in his own garage. Because of the unique shape, the Egg guarantees a bit of privacy in otherwise public spaces and the Egg – with or without footstool – is ideal for lounge and waiting areas as well as the home. The Egg is available in a wide variety of fabric upholstery as well as leather, always combined with a star shaped base in satin polished aluminium. Starting at $5,934 • fritzhansen.com

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ARNE JACOBSEN

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EERO AARNIO T A ROOM

WITHIN A ROOM

he Finnish designer Eero Aarnio is regarded as a

is even stronger in the 1968 “Bubble Chair”; its

pioneer in using plastic materials. Between 1954

curved seat consists of transparent perspex and is

and 1957 Eero Aarnio studied at the Institute of

dangling from the ceiling. Another 1968 Eero Aarnio

Industrial Arts in Helsinki. In 1962 Eero Aarnio set

chair is “Plastil”, for which Eero Aarnio received the

up his own studio there. He worked as an interior

American Industrial Design Award. Even though Eero

decorator, industrial designer, graphic designer and

Aarnio’s design objects coincide with the era of Pop

photographer. For his early furniture designs, Eero

design, he repudiated the throwaway ethic of the

Aarnio mainly used natural materials, for instance,

1960s and 1970s. Far from it: Eero Aarnio explored

for the basket chair “Jattujakkare”. In the 1960s

the possibilities of the new material plastic while

Eero Aarnio turned increasingly to the new plastic

remaining true to the Scandinavian tradition of quality

materials, especially fiber glass.

and durability.

In 1965, Eero Aarnio designed the legendary “Ball Chair” (or “Globe Chair”), a globular seat made from plastic that was reinforced with glass-fibers. The seat is based on a narrow plinth with a broad bottom; there is a round opening in the front. The inner part of the globe is padded and soft and serves as a seat. Sitting inside, the noises from outside seem to be quite absorbed and far away, whilst sound from the inside is actually amplified. This cocoon feeling

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BALL CHAIR ADELTA • 1965

“

The idea of the chair was very obvious. We had moved to our first home and I had started my free-lance career in 1962. We had a home but no proper big chair, so I decided to make one, but some way a really new one. After some drawing I noticed that the shape of the chair had become so simple that it was merely a ball. I pinned the full scale drawing on the wall and sat in the chair to see how my head would move when sitting inside it. Being the taller one of us, I sat in the chair and my wife drew the course of my head on the wall. This is how I determined the height of the chair. Since I aimed at a ball shape, the other lines were easy to draw, just remembering that the chair would have to fit through a doorway. After this I made the first prototype myself using an inside mould, which has been made using the same principle as a glider fuselage or wing. I covered the plywood body mould with wet paper and laminated the surface with fiberglass, rubbed down the outside, removed the mould from inside, had it upholstered and added the leg. In the end I installed the red telephone on the inside wall of the chair. The naming part of the chair was easy, the Ball Chair was born. - Eero Aarnio

“

Starting at $6,860 • eero-aarnio.com 22

EERO AARNIO

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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe T

he United States has a love-hate relationship with

wood, then stone, and then brick before progressing

Mies van der Rohe. Some say that he stripped

to concrete and steel. He believed that architects

architecture of all humanity, creating cold, sterile

must completely understand their materials before

and unlivable environments. Others praise his work,

they can design.

saying he created architecture in its most pure form.

A chair is a very difficult object

A skyscraper

is almost easier

That is why Chippendale is famous

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe began his career in his

Mies van der Rohe was not the first architect to

family stone-carving business in Germany. He never

practice simplicity in design, but he carried the

received any formal architectural training, but when

ideals of rationalism and minimalism to new levels.

he was a teenager he worked as a draftsman for

His glass-walled Farnsworth House near Chicago

several architects. Moving to Berlin, he found work

stirred controversy and legal battles. His bronze and

vin the offices of architect and furniture designer

glass Seagram Building in New York City (designed

Bruno Paul and industrial architect Peter Behrens.

in collaboration with Philip Johnson) is considered America’s first glass skyscraper. And, his philosophy

Early in his life, Mies van der Rohe began

that “less is more” became a guiding principle for

experimenting with steel frames and glass walls.

architects in the mid-twentieth century. Skyscrapers

He was director of the Bauhaus School of Design from 1930 until it disbanded in 1933. He moved

around the world are modeled after designs by Mies van der Rohe.

to the United States in 1937 and for twenty years (1938-1958) he was Director of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Mies van der Rohe taught his taught students at IIT to build first with

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25

BARCELONA CHAIR KNOLL • 1929

The Barcelona chair was exclusively designed for

The Barcelona chair was manufactured in the US

the German Pavilion, that country’s entry for the

and Europe in limited production from the 1930s to

Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, which was

the 1950s. In 1953, six years after Reich’s death,

hosted by Barcelona, Spain. The design resulted

van der Rohe ceded his rights and his name on the

from collaboration between the famous Bauhaus

design to Knoll, knowing that his design patents were

architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his longtime

expired. This collaboration then renewed popularity

partner and companion, architect and designer Lilly

in the design. Knoll claims to be the current licensed

Reich, whose contributions have only recently been

manufacturer and holder of all trademark rights to

acknowledged. An icon of modernism, the chair’s

the design. In 1965, Knoll purchased the trademark

design was inspired by the campaign and folding

rights to the Barcelona word from Drexel. In 2004,

chairs of ancient times.

Knoll received trade dress rights to the design from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Despite these

The Barcelona Chair frame was initially designed to

trademarks, a large replica market continues. Gordon

be bolted together, but was redesigned in 1950 using

International New York has continued to manufacture

stainless steel, which allowed the frame to be formed

the designs since the 1970s, even after a court

by a seamless piece of metal, giving it a smoother

battle against Knoll in 2005. In 2008, another court

appearance. Bovine leather replaced the ivory-colored

battle erupted between Knoll and Alphaville Design

pigskin which was used for the original pieces.

California; the outcome is pending Summary Judgment

The functional design and elements of it that were

in Federal District court.

patented by Mies in Germany, Spain and the United

Starting at $4,523 • knoll.com

States in the 1930s have since expired. 26

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

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FLORENCE KNOLL T

I AM

NOT A DECORATOR

28

here aren’t many teenagers who could design

to design that would become the backbone of her

a house, complete in every architectural

space and furniture creations. Florence met furniture

detail, but Florence Knoll did – aged just 14.

manufacturer, Hans Knoll, in 1943 and persuaded

Trained as an architect and designer, Knoll created

him to change the way he created furniture –

practical, yet beautiful furniture and interiors that

introducing interior design to his operations. Within

transformed the way living and work spaces are

three years, Florence had founded the now world-

now perceived. Knoll believed in total, holistic

famous Knoll Planning Unit and become Hans Knoll’s

design, and considered all aspects of a space when

wife and full business partner. When Hans Knoll died

creating interiors: architecture, interior design and

in 1955, Florence went on to run the company – an

furniture design. Her ‘total’ approach led Knoll to

unprecedented move for a woman in the 1950s.

create clear, uncluttered corporate spaces in the

Her ability to spot talent meant that designers such

1950s that revolutionised the way workplaces were

as Eero Saarinen created key furniture pieces for the

arranged. To these spaces she added functional,

company under her leadership.

minimalist furniture, such as the Florence Knoll Sofa, which combined usability, space-saving functionality,

Knoll is also credited with bringing exceptionally

comfort and style. Knoll’s design genius was spotted

high standards to her furniture designs, and is

early in life, when as an attendee of Kingswood

thought to have boosted furniture industry standards

School – part of the famous Cranbrook Academy

as a whole. Her fastidious attention to detail earned

of Art – she became the protégé of school president

her a reputation for perfectionism: a quality evident

and Finnish Architect, Eliel Saarinen. Under his

in her meticulously finished Florence Knoll Sofa, and

tutelage, Florence learned the holistic approach

other furniture creations. 29

FLORENCE KNOLL LOUNGE COLLECTION KNOLL • 1954

As a pioneer of the Knoll Planning Unit, Florence Knoll created what she modestly referred to as the “fill-in pieces that no one else wants to do.” She refers to her own line of lounge seating as the equivalent of “meat and potatoes,” asserting, “I needed the piece of furniture for a job and it wasn’t there, so I designed it.” Like so many of her groundbreaking designs that set the industry’s gold standard, the 1954 Lounge collection has made it into the pantheon of modern classics. Consistent with all of Knoll’s designs, the Lounge collection has a spare, angular profile that reflects the objective perfectionism of modern design in the early 1960s. Versatile collection includes lounge chair, settee, sofa, two-seater bench and three-seater bench. Starting at $2,263 • knoll.com

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FLORENCE KNOLL

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EERO SAARINEN E

ero Saarinen was born in Finland in 1910 and

of which was for the founder of the Case Study

emigrated to the USA with his family when he

program and publisher of avante-garde magazine

was 13 years old. His mother Loja was a sculptor

Arts & Architecture, John Entenza. While Saarinen’s

and textile designer, while his father Eliel was a

furniture output was relatively small, several of his

highly regarded architect who became one of the

designs, such as the Womb and Tulip chairs, have

principle lecturers at the Cranbrook Academy of Art

been in constant production since their launch. The

in Michigan. Saarinen studied sculpture in Paris then

Tulip collection (1955) was a unique expression of

architecture at Yale University, completing his degree

an architectural mind. Of the reduction of chair and

in 1934 and joining his father’s architecture practice

table legs to a single central pedestal, Saarinen said,

soon after. He went on to design such architectural

“I wanted to clear up the slum of legs.”

icons as the St Louis Gateway Arch in Missouri, the

I WANTED TO

CLEAR UP THE

SLUM OF

LEGS 32

TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport and the CBS Building in New York. Saarinen formed a friendship with Charles Eames while Eames was lecturing at Cranbrook. By 1940 they had collaborated on their first joint design, which won two first prizes at the New York Museum of Modern Art’s ‘Organic Design in Home Furnishings’ competition. The pair went on to create two Case Study houses together, one 33

TULIP COLLECTION KNOLL • 1956

The Tulip Chair and Stool is Saarinen’s purist

No detachable parts, no legs, no separation

approach to architecture and interior design. He

between component parts. It was unified. Winner

sought the essential idea and reduced it to the

of the 1969 Museum of Modern art award, the

most effective structural solution within an overall

chair is available with or without arms, and with

unity of design. To that end, Saarinen designed the

complementary stools and tables.

1956 Tulip chair in terms of its setting, rather than

Starting at $1,284 • knoll.com

a particular shape. “In any design problem, one should seek the solution in terms of the next largest thing,” he said. “If the problem is a chair, then its solution must be found in the way it relates to the room....” in Tulip, a single-legged chair made from fiberglass-reinforced resin, Saarinen realized his ideal of formal unity: “every significant piece of furniture from the past has a holistic structure.” He was an essentialist, breaking a chair or a piece of furniture down to its most basic form and function, and marrying that to an equally pure design aesthetic. The Tulip Chair is an essential art object, a lovely chair, and a piece of furniture design history. The entire chair was of a piece: 34

EERO SAARINEN

35

WOMB LOUNGE CHAIR AND OTTOMAN KNOLL • 1948

“When I approach an architectural problem,” Eero Saarinen once said, “I try to think out the real significance of it. What is its essence and how can the total structure capture that essence?” Florence Knoll had put forth the challenge of creating “a chair she could curl up in.” the Finnish-born architect and interior designer responded with the 1948 Womb chair, part of his breakthrough seating collection. With its steel rod base with a polished chrome finish and a frame upholstered in fabric over a fiberglass shell, the chair is designed to facilitate a relaxed sitting posture, providing emotional comfort and a sense of security—hence, the name “Womb,” now one of Knoll’s most recognizable designs as well as one of the most well-known pieces of 20th century design. Designed for comfort, there is no chair more soothing than the Saarinen Womb Chair. In addition to its impeccable comfort, the Saarinen Womb Chair’s design is impossible to ignore. It’s testament to both Saarinen’s skill and challenging of rules, the result of which is this true icon of design. Starting at $3,076 • knoll.com

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EERO SAARINEN

37

EXECUTIVE CHAIR KNOLL • 1946

The design of Eero Saarinen’s Executive Side

at the dome-shaped glass wall of the Kresge

Chair (1946) began more than a decade earlier,

Auditorium at MIT, it’s not a big leap to see the

when he and Charles Eames submitted several

same shape in the back of his Executive Chair.

designs to the Organic Design in Home Furnishings

This chair is Greenguard Indoor Air Quality

competition at the MoMA. The pair, who’d

Certified; for its use of low-emitting products.

been friends and collaborators since meeting at

Manufactured by Knoll according to the original

Cranbrook Academy of Art, won first prize. These

and exacting specifications of the designer.

fluid, sculptural shapes influenced the future work

Starting at $840 • knoll.com

of both men; for Saarinen, most notably in his Womb, Tulip and Executive chairs. The Executive was originally made of fiberglass but was later updated in polyurethane to take advantage of the technical advances in plastics. The feel of this classic seat, however, remains unchanged. The molded shell flexes slightly with the sitter and the contoured plywood seat supported by metal or wood legs. Unlike Saarinen’s furniture, which was consistently sculptural in form, these fluid lines didn’t appear in his architecture until the 1950s. When looking 38

EERO SAARINEN

39

GEORGE NELSON G

GOOD DESIGN

IS TIMELESS 40

eorge Nelson studied Architecture at Yale,

Herman Miller’s president. In 1945 De Pree asked

where he graduated in 1928. He continued his

him to become Herman Miller’s design director, an

studies and received a bachelor degree in fine

appointment that became the start of a long series

arts in 1931. A year later while preparing for the

of successful collaborations with Ray and Charles

Paris Prize competition he won the Rome prize. With

Eames, Harry Bertoia, Richard Schultz, Donald

Eliot Noyes, Charles Eames and Walter B. Ford he

Knorr and Isamu Noguchi. He set new standards

was part of a generation of architects that found too

for the involvement of design in all the activities of

few projects and turned successfully toward product,

the company, and in doing so he pioneered the

graphic and interior design. A few years later he

practice of corporate image management, graphic

returned to the U.S.A. to devote himself to writing.

programs and signage. His catalogue design and

Through his writing in “Pencil Points” he introduced

exhibition designs for Herman Miller close a long list

Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier

of involvements designed to make design to the most

and Gio Ponti to North America. At “Architectural

important driving force in the company. From his start

Forum” he was first associate editor (1935- 1943)

in the mid-forties to the mid-eighties his office worked

and later consultant editor (1944-1949).

for and with the best of his times. He was without any doubt the most articulate and one of the most

By 1940 he had drawn popular attention with several

eloquent voices on design and architecture in the

innovative concepts. In his post-war book: Tomorrow’s

U.S.A. of the 20th century.

House, for instance he introduced the concept of the ”family room”. One of those innovative concepts, the “storagewall” attracted the attention of D.J. De Pree, 41

NELSON COCONUT CHAIR HERMAN MILLER • 1955

What kind of person thinks up a chair that looks

Because of its unique, striking design, the

like a chunk of coconut? How about the person

Coconut chair is part of the permanent collection

who came up with the Marshmallow sofa. The

in museums worldwide. Because of the comfort

person who said, “Total design is nothing more

Nelson provided in his design, it’s also part of

or less than a process of relating everything to

the “permanent collection” in homes and offices.

everything.” Who brought modernism to American

The chair, as we produce it today, is true to

furniture. George Nelson. 1950s. Call it what you

Nelson’s original design, materials, and detailing.

will—classic, icon, slice of hard-shelled tropical

A modern classic, plain and simple.

fruit. Half a century later, it’s as wonderful to look

Starting at $3.999 • hermanmiller.com

at—and sit in—as ever. Introduced in 1955, the coconut chair is one artifact of the burst of creativity issuing from George Nelson’s design studio and changing the look and feel of American furniture. Once our founder, D.J. De Pree, convinced Nelson to become his director of design, a warm personal and professional relationship between the two led to a stunning range of products—including the Marshmallow sofa and the first L-shaped desk, a precursor to today’s workstation. And this chair. 42

GEORGE NELSON

43

NELSON MARSHMALLOW SOFA HERMAN MILLER • 1956

This is a sofa to brighten a room, to be happy

elements and making them appear to float on

and relax on. You look at its 18 10-inch

air, Nelson and Harper achieved this sofa’s

“marshmallow” cushions and you can’t help but

unique appearance and eye-catching appeal,

smile. It’s been that way since it began turning

which led the way into the pop art style of the

heads in 1956, when the Nelson Marshmallow

1960s. And by the way, that young designer

sofa was described in our catalog this way:

- Irving Harper - also designed the famous

“Despite its astonishing appearance, this piece

Herman Miller company logo.

is very comfortable.”

Starting at $3.099 • hermanmiller.com

George Nelson and Irving Harper, a young designer working in Nelson’s design firm, were approached by an inventor who had created an injection plastic disc that he insisted could be produced inexpensively and would be durable. The designers took a look and arranged 18 of them on a steel frame - the origin of the Marshmallow sofa. The inventor’s cushions turned out to be impractical, but Nelson and Harper were intrigued by the design they had created so casually, and Herman Miller decided to manufacture the sofa. By joining separate 44

GEORGE NELSON

45

ISAMU NOGUCHI H

ow does one sculpt space? How do objects give

Back in America, Noguchi met choreographer

form to the surrounding emptiness? This puzzle,

Martha Graham and began a long friendship with

posed both by Europeans like Giacometti and

Buckminster Fuller. Graham and Fuller provided

Brancusi and the Zen artists of Japan, creates a theme

Noguchi with inspiration, ideas and opportunities

that runs through the work of Isamu Noguchi. It is not

to create new forms like the sets he designed for

one he attempted to solve, but like the Zen master,

Graham’s dance programmes. In 1939, he designed

posed the question in different ways.

a free-form dining table for the president of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, A. Congers

ART SHOULD BECOME

AS ONE

WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS

46

One of the great sculptors of the 20th century,

Goodyear. The table’s seductive organic form

Noguchi created “lived spaces” for the theater,

presaged the coffee table Noguchi would design

interiors gardens and playgrounds. He also sought

for Herman Miller in 1944 and the wide range of

to bring sculptural qualities to the many objects

products that he would design all during the 1940’s,

he designed for common use. As a young man,

furniture informed by the biomorphic imagery of his

Noguchi studied medicine at Columbia University, but

sculpture.From his sculpture to his garden design to

abandoned medicine to pursue painting and sculpture

the Akari lamps designed in the 1950’s, Noguchi’s

and in 1927, a Guggenheim fellowship took him to

work sought always to resolve life and aesthetic

Europe. In Paris, he had the great good fortune to

practice, the art object and the utensil, just as he

be apprenticed in the studio of Constantin Brancusi,

sought to reveal the essential unity of form and space.

whose investigations of form and space recalled the art and architecture Noguchi knew from childhood years spent in Japan. 47

NOGUCHI TABLE HERMAN MILLER • 1944

A legendary piece of furniture gives rise to legends

Were the tables in these two stories one and the

about its inception, and the Noguchi table is a perfect

same? Probably. Because George Nelson asked

example. Where did the design begin? We know that

Noguchi to allow him to use the design he saw that

Noguchi was an inveterate scrounger. He scavenged

day to illustrate an article called “How to Make a

his New York neighborhood for all kinds of materials

Table.” And he also wanted Herman Miller to produce

he could use for his sculptures and other projects.

it. From the time it first appeared on the market as

George Nelson, our design director at the time, said

a Herman Miller table in 1948, it became perhaps

he was visiting Noguchi’s studio while Noguchi was

Noguchi’s most recognized work.

creating a table for his sister; the prototype he was working on was made from materials he had picked

Noguchi was, first and foremost, a sculptor who

up in alleys and on the street.

believed his task was to shape and bring order to space. He also believed that art should become

Isamu Noguchi says in his autobiography that the

as one with its surroundings. In a long lifetime of

design began after another designer “borrowed” a

creative work, Noguchi designed gardens and

Noguchi design for a three-legged table, then offered

plazas, fountains and murals, furniture and paper

it for sale. That designer answered Noguchi’s protests

lamps, and stage sets for modern dance pioneer

by saying, “Anybody can make a three-legged table.”

Martha Graham. But he said that of all the furniture

So Noguchi set out to design a different three-legged

designs he created, the table that bears his name

table. One that not just anybody could make.

represented his only true success. Starting at $1,349 • hermanmiller.com

48

ISAMU NOGUCH

49

LE CORBUSIER F

ew would protest that Le Corbusier, Charles-

Paradoxically, Le Corbusier combined a passion for

Edouard Jeanneret, is one of the most influential

classical Greek architecture and an attraction to the

architects of the 20th century. He articulated

modern machine. He published his ideas in a book

provocative ideas, created revolutionary designs and

entitled, Vers une Architecture, in which he refers to

demonstrated a strong, if utopian, sense of purpose to

the house as a “machine for living,” an industrial

meet the needs of a democratic society dominated by

product that should include functional furniture or

the machine.

“equipment de l’habitation.” In this spirit, Corbusier co-designed a system of furniture with his cousin

The home should be thE

treasure chesT

OF LIVING

50

Le Corbusier was encouraged by a teacher to take up

Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand. The tubular

architecture and built his first house at the age of 18

steel furniture, like the famous chaise and Grand

for a member of his school’s teaching staff. In 1908,

Confort chair, projected a new rationalist aesthetic

he went to Paris and began to practice with Auguste

that came to epitomize the International Style. During

Pierret, an architect known for his pioneering use of

the 1920s and 30s, Le Corbusier concentrated on

concrete and reinforced steel. Moving to Berlin, Le

architecture and during the 1950s he moved towards

Corbusier worked with Peter Behrens, who taught

more expressive forms that revealed the sculptural

him about industrial processes and machine design.

potential of concrete. Over the decades, his work has

In 1917, he returned to Paris where he met post-

included mass housing blocks, public buildings and

cubist Amedee Ozenfant and developed Purism, a

individual villas, all conceived with what he called

new concept of painting. In 1920, still in Paris, he

the “engineer’s aesthetic.”

adopted the pseudonym, Le Corbusier.

51

LC2 COLLECTION CASSINA • 1928

The Le Corbusier group referred to their LC2 Collection as “cushion baskets,” which they designed as a modernist response to the traditional club chair. These pieces reverse the standard structures of sofas and chairs by having frames that are externalized. With thick, resilient pillows resting within the steel frames, the idea was to offer all the comfort of a padded surface while applying the elegant minimalism and industrial rationale of the International Style. The resulting aesthetic of the simple tubular structure is remarkably relevant to how we live today, more than 80 years later. Each piece is signed and numbered and, as a product of Cassina’s Masters Collection, is manufactured by Cassina under exclusive worldwide license from the Le Corbusier Foundation. Starting at $3.780 • cassinausa.com

52

LE CORBUSIER

53

VERNER PANTON B

orn 1926 in Gamtofte, Denmark, Verner Panton

Panton’s collaboration with Vitra began in the early

studied at Odense Technical College before

1960s, when the firm decided to develop what

enrolling at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine

became his best-known design, the Panton Chair,

Arts in Copenhagen as an architecture student. He

which was introduced in 1967. This was also the

worked from 1950-52 in thearchitectural firm of

first independently developed product by Vitra.

Arne Jacobsen and founded an independent studio for architecture and design in 1955. His furniture

Verner Panton died in 1998 in Copenhagen.

designs for the firm Plus-linje attracted attention

Vitra’s re-edition of designs by Panton, as well as

with their geometric forms. In the following years

the retrospective of his work mounted by the Vitra

Panton created numerous designs for seating furniture

Design Museum in 2000, bear witness to the special

and lighting. His passion for bright colours and

relationship between Vitra and Verner Panton.

geometric patterns manifested itself in an extensive

CHOOSING COLORS SHOULD NOT BE A

GAMBLE IT SHOULD BE

A CONSCIOUS DECISION

range of textile designs. By fusing the elements of a room—floor, walls, ceiling, furnishings, lighting, textiles, wall panels made of enamel or plastic— into a unified gesamtkunstwerk, Panton’s interior installations have attained legendary status. The most famous examples are the “Visiona” ship installations for the Cologne Furniture Fair (1968 and 1970), the Spiegel publishing headquarters in Hamburg (1969) and the Varna restaurant in Aarhus (1970).

54

55

PANTON CHAIR VITRA • 1960

“Most people spend their lives living in dreary, beige conformity, mortally afraid of using color. The main purpose of my work is to provoke people into using their imagination and make their surroundings more exciting.” Created by Verner Panton in 1960, and with the assistance of Vitra technicians a version was finally ready for series production in 1967. The Panton Chair is the very first ever to be constructed from one continous piece of material. Since its market launch, the Panton Chair has undergone several production phases. Not until today was it possible to produce it in line with Panton’s original idea, namely from consistently dyed, tough plastic with a matte surface and an affordable price. The Panton Chair has won various design awards world-wide and graces the collections of numerous renowned museums. Its expressive shape makes it a true 20th century design icon. The chair offers great seating comfort thanks to the cantilever base, together with its shape and flexible materials. It can be used on its own or in groups and even outdoors. Starting at $260 • vitra.com 56

VERNER PANTON

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JIMMY MORRISSEY KENDALL COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN PUBLICATION DESIGN FALL 2010