design classics – DesignApplause

design / 23 oct 2014 11a cst. wright.

Oct 15, 2014

above> rare bowl chair | lina bo bardi | 1951

auction > 23 oct 2014 | 11a CST

This October Wright presents an exciting selection of modern works by some of the 20th century’s most renowned designers including notable works by Alexander Girard, Paul Evans, Gio Ponti and Ettore Sottsass, to name a few. Single owner collections stand prominently in this auction with remarkable works from the design collection of the pioneering dealers, Full House and an exceptional group of ESUs by Charles and Ray Eames from the original owner. Finally, the sale features more than twenty lots designed by Tommi Parzinger for the Appleman Commission in 1956. Parzinger thoughtfully designed every detail of the Appleman interior and the collection includes lighting, tables, and seating along with specially designed door hardware and construction drawings from the project.

prototype scarica elettrica table lamp | lapo binazzi | 1973 / 1985

chair from the mobili nella valle series | mario ceroli | poltronova | 1972

faceted cabinet | paul evans | paul evans studio | 1965

rare daybed | kho liang ie | artifort | c. 1959 / 1960

muren ljusblå flatweave carpet | marianne richter | märta måås- fjetter- ström | 1971

dining set | warren platner | knoll | 1966

pair of committe armchairs | pierre jeanneret | c. 1953

sasso vase | antonio da ros | cenedese | 1959

svincolo lamp from the bauhaus collection | ettore sottsass | studio alchimia | 1979

[ design ] includes nearly 250 works of exceptional design. Each item will be featured in our award-winning, full-color auction catalog as well as presented in our online preview at [ View lots ] | 1440 West Hubbard Street Chicago | 312 563 0020
[ auction / chicago ] preview / chicago || 16 – 23 October 2014 | 10a > 5p monday > saturday | sunday by appointment

auction > 23 oct 2014 | 11a CST

Herman miller collection.

Nov 9, 2012

click > enlarge

Herman Miller launched in 2012 a new online presence for the Herman Miller Collection. The Herman Miller Collection draws on George Nelson’s vision of “a permanent collection designed to meet fully the requirements for modern living.” This comprehensive portfolio offers a breadth and depth of products to furnish complete environments in a myriad of settings, both residential and contract, elegant and casual, across a range of prices.

george nelson and “_____”

Explore the [ Herman Miller Collection ]

Authentic icons. Cassina in Milan 2012.

May 3, 2012

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the overall quality of creativity and presentations in milan was astounding. for example, there weren’t many companies we visited that did not create a classic icon. cassina interestingly built their 2012 theme around — “authentic by design.” in cassina’s words:

The gesture of the designer, their hand, a sketch, an idea. The authenticity of a project is an ever innovative process of thought, insight and research, which Cassina identifies and values starting from the original creative heart, combining its qualitative excellence with its consolidated workmanship experience.

Cassina deliberately seeks authenticity in every project. This perspective is the starting point for the 2012 collection: a series of projects that express a way of thinking and living authentic design, where each element is always substantive and consistent.

Important design 2011. Wright auction.

Dec 1, 2011

15 december 2011 |12 pm cst | left: harry bertoia | stahr collection

On 15 December Wright concludes the year with our Important Design auction, a bi-annual sale featuring rare and significant works of the 20th century.

Important Design is comprised of a number of works from prominent collectors and distinguished interiors as well as exceptional forms by the 20th century’s leading artists and designers. The sale includes more than two dozen sculptures by Harry Bertoia, including an excellent Gong and an unparalleled selection of sculptures from the Stahr Collection. Italian master, Gio Ponti features prominently in this sale with a selection of works designed for Villa Arreaza, Caracas (1956), one of two complete residential commissions completed by the designer in Venezuela. Modernist Ettore Sottsass is represented with a large collection of rare glass forms, each from a small edition. And finally, a great collection of beautifully crafted works from interiors designed by Samuel Marx, will be introduced to the market for the first time.

two seat sofa | wendall castle

aristea vase | ettore sottsass

Additional highlights include a matched pair of Long chairs by George Nakashima, a mobile by George Rickey and a Stack Pot by Peter Voulkos. Numerous architectural artifacts from Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan buildings and a selection of works by Isamu Noguchi, including a rare bowl, will be sold alongside important works by Gabriella Crespi, Paul Evans, Max Ingrand, Gino Sarfatti, Roger Tallon, Jean Prouvé and other notable designers. Important Design is comprised of the highest quality works of the 20th century.

Important design features nearly 250 works of exceptional design. Each item will be featured in our award-winning, full-color auction catalog as well as presented in our online preview at [ View lots ] Gallery preview will open December 8th and run through December 14th, open Monday – Saturday 10 am – 5pm and Sunday by appointment | 1440 West Hubbard Street Chicago | 312 563 0020 [ wright auction ]
[ auction 15 december 2011 | noon cst ]

Knoll space annual sale 2011. Luminaire.

Sep 20, 2011

<< click to enlarge [ knollspace sale at luminaire ]

jobs plus rand equals logo.

Aug 25, 2011

In 1993 Steve Jobs talks about his logo designer for Next, Paul Rand. Encounter exposes a common thread between them.

For example, did Jobs talk to other designers? No. Rand was the only designer Jobs approached. And Jobs asks if Rand will show him a few options. Rand says, “No, I will solve your problem for you and you will pay me. You don’t have to use the solution and if you want options go to other people. But I will solve your problem for you the best way that I know how.”

Editor’s note: I chaired a conference on corporate identity for the STA (Society of Typographic Arts) before becoming the American Center for Design and I called Mr. Rand four times asking him if he would speak. Well, it was not going to happen. He said he didn’t go to these things, period. Yes, very curmudgeony. The final speakers were: David Strong (David Strong); Robert Burns (Burns Cooper and Hynes); Phil Seefeld (Landor); John Massey (Container Corporation); Wayne Webb (RVI Corporation); Herb Murrie (Murrie White Drummond Lienhart).

Five years later I co-chaired Trademarks USA2 for the STA. Thinking Mr. Rand needed a more esteemed roster and asked: Saul Bass (Bass Yeager); Ivan Chermayeff (Chermayeff & Geismar); Walter Landor (Landor); Walter Margulies (Lippincott Margulies; John Massey (Container Corporation); Wayne Webb (RVI Corporation). Of interest, first time the Walter’s met face-to-face. Mr. Rand said thanks but it was going to be paralysis due to over analysis. He asked if I put this much time into solving design problems.

I had forgotten about this interview, thanks Steve Juras. [ paul rand’s business card ]

Product design quiz. Date of origin.

Aug 18, 2010

can you guess date of realization?
left: peter behrens

left: werner max moser

left: sophie taeuber arp

left: rossler porzellen

left: paul burri

many of these objects seem sensible and elegant solutions, in response to human needs. what makes their date of origin a bit tricky to nail down? curious about the designer’s design criteria at the time and wondering how history plays into the solutions. [images from the collections of the museum für gestaltung zurich]
answers: 1) 1900 2) 1900 3) 1902 4) 1905 5) 1909 6) 1918 7) 1918 8) 1923 9) 1928 10) 1930s 11) 1929 12) 1931 13) 1931 14) 1933 15) 1934 16) 1935 17) 1936 18) 1938 19) 1944 20) 1945 21) 1952 22) 1955 23) 1955 24) 1957 25) 1948 26) 2008 27) 2008

Edition20.

Jul 20, 2010

classic design is always in style, but have you found yourself wondering which of your bauhaus or mid-century favorites are still in production, and if so, where you can get them?
above: frank gehry’s wiggle side chair

above: george nelson’s home desk

above: george nakashima’s straight chair

above: marcel breuer’s wassily lounge chair

The answer to that is Edition20, a searchable database of all the best 20th-century goods that are still being produced under their original license. No links to knock-off manufacturers or reproductions or vintage classics that are no longer made.

The site itself is straightforward, easy to navigate and totally addictive. Even the most lukewarm design interest will be sparked by the labyrinthine path sure to ensue after the first click. George Nelson’s 1958 Home Desk by Vitra leads you to Frank Gehry’s 1972 Wiggle Side Chair, which leads you to his other work for Knoll, which can lead you to anything from George Nakashima’s 1948 Straight Chair to Marcel Breuer’s 1928 Wassily Lounge Chair to any of the famous pieces by Harry Bertoia, Mies van der Rohe or Eero Saarinen. And that’s just the chairs. For serious research or just a midday diversion, Edition20 satisfies.

Resources:
edition20
george nelson’s home desk
frank gehry’s wiggle side chair
george nakashima’s straight chair
marcel breuer’s wassily lounge chair

about perrin drumm

Glass house revisited.

Feb 19, 2010

the glass house or johnson house, built in 1949 in new canaan, connecticut, was designed by philip johnson as his own residence.

On June 23, 2007, a few quiet groups began arriving in New Canaan, Conn., to tour Philip Johnson’s modernist home, the Glass House–the first official tours of the property in more than 50 years. The house, the centerpiece of an estate that Johnson added to over the years, is a 56-foot-long box.

above: more images from photographer michael moran seen in arcspace.com

above: more images from photographer paul warchol seen at metropolismag.com

above left to right: andy warhol, david whitney, johnson, dr. john dalton, and robert a. m. stern in 1964. (david mccabe)

above: guesthouse, aesthetic counterpoint to glass house, the brick house holds most of its utilities. (paul warchol)

above: the pavilion 1962. the six foot tall pavilion is situated by a man-made pond. {michael moran)

above: the brick house

above: entrance to the painting gallery

above: a model of the glass house on display at MOMA in NYC

“The house forms a nucleus of 40- acre landscaped complex that contain many other structures. Michael Moran’s photographs present the Glass House in this greater context, and demonstrate that neither part – the house nor its surroundings – would make sense alone”. Hilary Lewis, Philip Johnson’s biographer.

we are reminded that along with the farnsworth house, the glass house is also a national trust for historic preservation ( NTFHP ) site.

Designer: phillip johnson

Resources:
philipjohnsonglasshouse.org
metropolismag.com
time.com
arcspace.com
wikipedia
NTFHP
the farnsworth house

Farnsworth house revisited.

Jan 30, 2010

the farnsworth house is located about 60 miles southwest of chicago.
Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the late 40s and completed in 1953, the house was a one-room weekend retreat for Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a kidney specialist from Chicago. In the architecture world, the house is a candidate for one of the seven wonders of the world.

My early clients included Fujikawa Conterato Lohan ( formerly the office of Mies ) and then Lohan Associates, Dirk Lohan is Mies’s grandson. The relationship exposed me to the process of Mies and his desciples. Their strength, and sometimes flaw, was an unwavering loyalty to core principles that made their structures immediately recognized.

The architects almost exclusively built towers, both commercial and residential, and yes, the buildings are very similar, both inside and out. The majority of the buildings until the mid 80s are dark bronze to match the patina of cor-ten steel which is used quite a bit.

It’s not a stretch to say the house resembles the street level lobbies of the towers. It also looks and feels like a white mini-McCormick Place, a convention center. Mies applied the concept of the unobstructed space of exhibit halls that is flexible for use by people.

Effective January 1, 2010, Landmarks Illinois transferred operation of the Farnsworth House to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the property’s owner.

The vitals:
The total cost of the house was $74,000 in 1951.
Materials almost exclusively are glass, steel, and travertine stone.
The main deck is 5-3 feet high to prevent flooding ;-(
The house is now a museum and in the process of restoration due to severe flood damage.
Landmarks Illinois transferred operation of the Farnsworth House, effective January 1, 2010, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the property’s owner.

Designer: ludwig mies van der rohe

Resources:
wikipedia
wired new york forum
pruned
farnsworthhouse.org
strangeharvest
channel4
mr watson
prusikloop
architectural guidance
skyscraper page</a