Mobler

2009 IIDA Forum Advisors

2009-11-22T07:35:00.001-05:00

Corporate Forum Advisor
Valerie Frye, IIDA, LEED AP
BNIM Architects, Inc.
Kansas City, Missouri
vfrye@bnim.com

Facility Planning & Design Forum Advisor
Jennifer Barnes, IIDA
RTKL Associates, Inc.
Baltimore, Maryland
jbarnes@rtkl.com

Government Forum Advisor
Mariann Schofield, IIDA
U.S. Air Force
Colorado Springs, Colorado
mariann.schofield@peterson.af.mil

Healthcare Forum Advisor
Louise Nicholson Carter, IIDA
Morris Architects
Houston, Texas
louise.carter@morrisarchitects.com

Hospitality Forum Advisor
Rick Marencic, IIDA
Daroff Design
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
rickm@daroffdesign.com

Institutional Forum Advisor
Stacy Reed, IIDA, LEED AP
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
sreed@utsystem.edu

Knowledge Forum Advisor
Phil Bulone, IIDA
International Academy of Design & Technology
Tampa, Florida
pbulone@academy.edu

Residential Forum Advisor
Vicki VanStavern, IIDA., LEED AP
VanStavern Design Group
Edmond, Oklahoma
vvs@vanstavern.com

Retail Forum Advisor
Ali Khatibi, IIDA
Callison
Seattle, Washington
ali.khatibi@callison.com

Sustainability Forum Advisor
Robert P. Moylan, IIDA, LEED AP, Associate ASID
SmithGroup, Inc.
Washington, D.C.
robert.moylan@smithgroup.com

2008-11-30T23:21:00.000-05:00

Hightower Group Product Overview

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: international modern)

2005-09-07T17:14:00.000-04:00

Eileen Gray Furnishings. If you want the original authorized pieces - here is the Eileen Gray website.

2005-08-20T14:12:00.000-04:00

Borge Mogensen High Back Sofa and Wing Chair. Mogensen furnishings are manufactured in Denmark by Fredericia. The North American price list is available online.

2005-02-20T14:09:00.000-05:00

BD5 Gondola Chair

2005-02-20T14:06:00.000-05:00

Norway Says

2005-02-20T13:58:00.000-05:00

Scandia Chair, designed by Hans Brattrud in 1957, in today a contemporary Scandinavian classic.

From My Library

2005-01-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

Eileen Gray (1878-1976) was one of the most innovative architect/designers of the 20th century. Her pioneering tables, mirrors, lamps, and lacquer screens have become modern classics, coveted by museums and collectors, and some of the designs are still reproduced today. First published in 1987 and hailed as a "splendid book, gripping and unpretentious" (Arts Review), this "informative and affectionate" portrait (New York Times) by documentary filmmaker and author Peter Adam, a longstanding friend, is the first full-scale biography of this remarkable woman.

Adam draws upon his exclusive access to Gray's personal archives as he re-creates her life and architectural projects. Two houses she designed in the South of France are now considered architectural landmarks of the 20th century. In addition to more than 300 photographs, designs, and architectural plans, the new edition of the book provides a revised catalogue raisonn of Gray's furniture, architecture, and drawings-an indispensable reference source for collectors and students of one of the leaders of 20th-century design.

PETER ADAM is a prize-winning documentary filmmaker and writer. He is the author of Abrams' Art of the Third Reich and has written books on David Hockney, Alfred Eisenstaedt, and Andr Kertesz. He lives in London and the South of France.

Eileen Gray furniture is available in North American from Hightower Group. Hightower sells the authorized reproduction - top quality - not the imitation knockoff copies.

My Favorite Things ....

2005-01-16T13:14:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of the work of Eileen Gray. I recently purchased her 1920's rug design, St. Tropez, from Hightower Group. I love it!

Hightower is offering six different rug designs, as well as all of the classic Eileen Gray furniture pieces; E1027 tables, day beds, roquebrune chairs.

Here is a link to the Hightower website and an email link.

My Favorite Things .....

2004-12-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

Quality and a focus on craftsmanship. Hans Wegner's classic J16 rocker, has the danish refined influence with a distinct Shaker flavor. The J16 is manufacturered in Denmark by Fredericia Furniture and available in the US and Canada from Hightower.

Here is a great book on Danish Design, I recommend it.

Here is what the professionals have to say about it...

The New York Times
How has Danish design remained so dependably original over the last century? A new book, Danish Chairs, by Noritsugu Oda, shows how the simplest things can bare the soul of a whole culture. The book's preface explains how Danish designers have worked to simplify life by building comfortable, useful, beautiful and affordable items. The Danish chairs are photographed on four sides like pure sculpture, which will be enough to make Arne Jacobson fans swoon. The Metropolitan chair was conceived 40 years ago by two craftsman, Aksel Bender Madson and Ejner Larsen, but its complex curves are newly fashionable. Although many of the 200 designs in the book are no longer made, reproductions and descendants live on.

Modernism Magazine
The greatest revelation of Danish Chairs (Chronicle) by Noritsugu Oda is that Arne Jacobsen and Hans Wegner were only the tip of the iceberg.
Great Danes in chair design were many and this book includes unfamiliar names like Helge Vestergaard Jensen, designer of an extraordinary 1955 nylon-cord "racket" chair, and Edvard and Tove Kindt-Larsen, prolific in Denmark from the 1930's through '50's, but unknown in the U.S.; variants on familiar designs, like Poul Kjaerhom's esay chair of 1971, a wooden-legged version of this more common steel-and-leather designs; and rarely-seen pieces by well-known designers such as Finn Juhl's extravagantly shaped pelican chair of 1940.

A preface by Takako Murakami, elegantly translated from the Japanese, goes a long way toward explaining how the Japanese bring such a fresh and clear eye to the subject of chairs. Their fascination with the Western furniture form seem only natural when one considers that the chair made its appearance in Japan only forty years ago.

Oda, a professor of arts and crafts at Hokkaido University, documents the spare perfection of Danish chair design from the early twentieth century to the present decade in uniformly lit. 360-degree views of some 200 chairs, accompanied by the author's schematic line drawings.

Why the Danes? Denmark in the twentieth century possessed all the necessary conditions for the development of excellence in furniture design, argues Murakami: "a far-reaching understanding of traditional woodworking and modern engineering techniques, the presence of highly trained craftspeople...the unparalleled creativity of its designers and their recognition of consumer's needs and desires." On perusing Danish Chairs, we can only marvel at a small nation's consistency in producing cultural artifacts of such exceptional craftmanship, beauty, and utility.

Flaunt
Denmark has long led the way in twentieth-century furniture design, producing beautiful pieces distinguished by excellent craftsmanship. Danish innovations with the chair, in particular, represent many highly pleasing accords between function, comfort and style. The book Danish Chairs gathers together more than 200 premier examples of twentieth-century Danish chair design, offering along the way a wealth of inspiration for designers, decorators and architects. The featured designers include Arne Jacobsen, well known for his Ant and Egg Chairs; Hans J. Wegner, designer of some 200 chairs, including the Peacock and Ox; and Finn Juhl, best known for his Chieftain Chair.

2004-12-02T13:48:00.000-05:00

"Poetic insight will remain fundamental to the exaltation of the individual." Jack Lenor Larsen.

From My Library....

2004-12-02T13:37:00.000-05:00

Massive Change is a modern illustrated primer on the new inventions, technologies, and events that are affecting the human race worldwide. The book is a part of a broader research project by Bruce Mau Design and the Institute without Boundries is intended to provoke debate and discussion about the future of design culture, broadly defined as the "familiar objects and techniques that are transforming our lives."

In essays, interviews, and provocative imagery aimed at a broad audience, Massive Change explores the changing force of design in the contemporary world, and in doing so expands the definition of design to include the built environment, transportation technologies, revolutionary materials, energy and information systems, and living organisms.

The book is divided into 11 heavily illustrated sections covering major areas of change in contemporary society - such as urbanism and architecture, the military, health and living, and wealth and politics. Each section intersperses intriguing documentary images with a general introductory essay, extended captions, and interviews with leading thinkers, including engineers, designers, philosophers, scientists, architects, artists, and writers. Concluding the book is a graphic timeline of significant inventions and world events from 10,000 B.C. to the present.

AIA Los Angeles - 2004 Presidential Honorees

2004-12-01T14:41:00.000-05:00

My congratulations go out to:

AIA Los Angeles Gold Medal
Jon Jerde, FAIA The Jerde Partnership

The City Legacy Award
THE 1984 OLYMPICS
Deborah Sussmann & Paul Prejza Sussman/Prejza & Company, Inc.
Jon Jerde, FAIA The Jerde Partnership

Building Team of the Year
THE GOLD LINE
Ric Thorpe - MTA
Eric Olson - Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
Ki Suh Park, FAIA, FAICP - Gruen Associates
J.F. Finn III, AIA- Gensler
Leslie Elwood - Metro Gold Line
Foothill Extension Project
Doug Duplisea - Kiewit Washington Joint Venture
Robert Holmquist - Parsons USA
Wallace Bartelt - McLean & Schulz
Lauren Mélendrez, Assoc. AIA - Meléndrez

City Rebuilder
Wade Killefer, AIA & Barbara Flammang, AIA Killefer Flammang Architects

Building Coalitions Award
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER & LAUSD
AMGEN CENTER FOR SCIENCE LEARNING
WALLIS ANNENBERG BUILDING OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION
Thom Mayne, AIA - Morphosis
James A. McConnell - LAUSD
Roy Romer - LAUSD
Jeffrey Rudolph - California Science Center

Good Government Award
Craig Perkins, Susan Munves
City of Santa Monica, Environmental and Public Works

Honorary AIA/Los Angeles
Chris Tosdevin, Hon. AIA/LA bulthaup corporation
Danette Riddle, Hon. AIA/LA DMJM

Service to the Community Award
LOS ANGELES RIVER PROJECT
Arthur Golding - Arthur Golding & Associates
Lewis McAdams, President Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR)
Councilmember Ed Reyes - City of Los Angeles
Rob Kubomoto - LA County Dept. of Public Works

Service to the Community Award
Frances Anderton - KCRW

Educator of the Year
Los Angeles Forum for Architecture
and Urban Design
Kazys Varnelis
Craig Hodgetts, AIA
Ben Caffey, AIA

Public Open Space Award
UCLA - FRANKLIN D. MURPHY SCULPTURE GARDEN
Howard Troller - Troller - Mayer | Associates
Cynthia Burlingham - UCLA Hammer Museum

From My Library ...

2004-12-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

Published on the occasion of a major international traveling exhibition organized by the U.S. Library of Congress and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany (holders of the two richest Eames collections in the world), this comprehensive volume is a testament to the Eameses' belief that good design could improve people's lives.

From the 1940s to the 1970s, the prolific husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames designed furniture, buildings, exhibitions, and interiors, and made films. They are perhaps best known for the form-fitting chairs that were mass-produced using the same techniques the Eameses developed in their first apartment.

Taking a multifaceted approach to their multifaceted careers, this comprehensive, clothbound volume with French folds includes a filmography, making clear the pair's profound influence on the visual vernacular of the 20th century.

AIA Awards Announced

2004-12-01T14:17:00.000-05:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced the recipients of the 2004 Business Week/Architectural Records (BW/AR) Awards. Given annually, the BW/AR Awards honor architects and clients who best utilize good design to achieve important objectives for organizations such as marketing products and services, attracting and maintaining a high-quality student body or workforce, improving the health and welfare of employees, and uplifting the immediate environment.

This year's recipients consist of three government facilities, five cultural/educational projects, and two aid organizations. They range from a community center in LA's Skid Row to an iron studio in rural North Carolina, from a martial arts facility in Japan to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem, but at the core they all share one attribute—they understand how good design can achieve important organizational objectives.

The projects were evaluated by a jury of ten consisting of prominent architects, design professionals, and business leaders. The members of the 2004 BW/AR jury are Moshe Safdie, FAIA, principal, Moshe Safdie and Associates; Betsy Z. Cohen, chairman and chief executive officer, Resource Asset Investment Trust; Rand Elliott, FAIA, principal, Elliott + Associates Architects; Douglas Gardner, former president, Urban Development Group, Catellus Development Corporation; Lee Green, director of Corporate Identity and Design, IBM Corporation; Paul Herzan, president, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; Frances P. Huppert, FAIA, senior vice president, Design & Construction, Empire State Development Corporation; Marianne McKenna, FRAIC, principal, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects; Paula S. Wallace, president, Savannah College of Art and Design; and Allison G. Williams, FAIA, managing principal, Ai Architecture/San Francisco.

The recipients of the 2004 Business Week/Architectural Record Awards are:

Project: Humane Society/SPCA of San Antonio and Bexar County, San Antonio.
Architect: Billy A. Lawrence, AIA, Alamo Architects, Inc., San Antonio
Client: Humane Society/SPCA of San Antonio and Bexar County, San Antonio
Shelter Design Consultant: Connolly Architects, Inc., Austin, Texas

Whereas most shelters are dark, noisy, depressing, and located on the periphery of town, the San Antonio SPCA selected a prime retail area. The resulting facility is spacious, welcoming, and uplifting, encouraging repeat visits and volunteerism. Adoptions are up 95 percent and the return rate has dropped to 2.5 percent. Disease levels have fallen significantly due to quick turnover and communal accommodations. Best of all, because the older animals are placed in the front, three times as many adult dogs and cats are now being adopted.

Project: Limerick County Hall, Co. Limerick, Ireland
Architect: Karen McEvoy, Merritt Bucholz, Bucholz McEvoy Architects, Dublin
Client: Limerick County Council, Limerick, Ireland
This government facility was created with the objective of creating a new vision of local government. The building provides clear and efficient public access to the local government, consumes virtually no energy from non-renewable resources, reduces CO2 emissions and energy usage; bathes employees in abundant natural lighting; provides natural ventilation; and is a model for other governmental organizations.

Project: MoMA QNS, Long Island City, N.Y.
Architect: Scott D. Newman, AIA, Cooper, Robertson & Partners, New York City
Client: The Museum of Modern Art, New York City

Associate Architect: Michael L. Maltzan, AIA, Michael Maltzan Architecture
The design of this project had to accomplish three goals: support preservation and research activities for 25 years; accommodate blockbuster exhibits without major structural changes; and provide a strong visual statement. MoMA QNS did all of that, plus it started the neighborhood’s evolution from industrial neighborhood to burgeoning arts community. The goal of 1-2,000 visitors per day is consistently exceeded, and during major exhibits visitors can reach 4,000. In addition, MoMA’s goals were achieved months within schedule and under budget.

Project: Israeli Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem
Architect: Jack Diamond, Hon. FAIA, Diamond and Schmitt Architects, Inc., Toronto, Canada with Kolker, Kolker Epstein Architects, Jerusalem
Client: Israeli Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem

The 430,000 square foot facility was designed to accommodate administrative and state ceremonial requirements services which were formerly scattered in a series of single-story huts. The Foreign Ministry wanted the building to exude a stately and ceremonial function, yet also be a symbol of secure office design in the Middle East. Despite the fundamental need for security, the building achieves a feeling of openness and transparency, while distinguishing itself as an elegant and dignified state building.

Project: Iron Studio, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, N.C.Architect: Frank Harmon, FAIA, Frank Harmon Architect, Raleigh, N.C.
Client: Penland School of Crafts, Penland, N.C.

This rural school's popular iron program had outgrown its ramshackle studio. The new 5,500-square-foot studio is programmed for designing, fabricating, and finishing iron objects weighing three ounces to three tons. Within the first year of operation enrollment increased by 100 percent and future courses are fully-booked. Additionally, the Iron Studio has increased Penland's visibility and raised the level of expectation for other craft disciplines within the school. Sturdy, practical, and deceptively simple, the Iron Studio celebrates the craft of iron-making in a noble way.

Project: Finn Center, Community School of Music and Arts, Mountain View, CA
Architect: Mark Cavagnero Associates, San Francisco, Calif.
Client: Community School of Music and Arts

After 36 years in temporary facilities, the Community School of Music and Arts finally has a permanent facility that integrates its programs and spaces, providing 17 private music studios, several large art classrooms, ceramics studios, an exhibition gallery, exterior performance areas, and a 204-seat concert hall. Boasting inspiring light-filled classrooms and studios for art and acoustically exceptional practice and performance spaces for music, the building is a "blank canvas" for the school's creative programs. With a new building that has caught the attention of the surrounding community, the Community School has seen even greater interest in its programs. In the eyes of the client, the Finn Center, in function and presence, reflects the collaboration that has allowed it to further its mission of Arts for All.

Project: Ehime Prefectural Budokan, Matsuyama City, Ehime, Japan
Architect: Michio Sugawara, Hon. FAIA, Ishimoto Architectural & Engineering Firm, Inc., Tokyo
Client: Ehime Prefecture, Ehime, Japan

The goals for this martial arts facility was to increase visitors, improve international appeal, boost the local economy, and create a landmark facility that would be a monument to culture, friendship, and local traditions. The number of annual visitors, previously registered at 21,745, has increased to 146,546. By contracting with local vendors, the project generated nearly $13 million for the community. In addition, in the four months following completion, 20 large events were held in the facility, including one international-level sport game and one national-level convention.

Project: James M. Wood Community Center, Los Angeles
Architect: Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA, Lehrer Architects LA, Los Angeles
Client: SRO Housing Corporation, Los Angeles

This project, a repeat collaboration between architect, builder, and client, is the sole community space for the social, recreational, and nutritional needs of LA's Skid Row residents. The project uses natural light and color to engage the user and transform the tough urban context. The architecture serves to honor the homeless population, honor the street, and explore both the humane and the monumental.

Project: Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center, Seattle
Architect: Robert Hull, FAIA and Ron Rochon, AIA, The Miller/Hull Partnership, LLP
Client: City of Seattle, Seattle Center

The primary function of this new exhibition hall is to promote community and a sense of place for nearly one million visitors per year. The previous building and plaza sat isolated along the southern edge of the green and blocked the view of a nearby theatre. The desire to open up the view and increase available space led to a "subterranean" design which pushed the building into the ground and created a public rooftop pavilion. The environmentally-sensitive design was built for a LEED Certified rating reducing its impact on the community's water and energy resources, and has provided a rich open space for community events and festivals.

Project: Britomart Transport Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Architects: Greg Boyden, JASMAX Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand and
Mario Madayag, Mario Madayag Architecture Ltd. (MMA), Auckland, New Zealand
Client: Auckland City Council Britomart Project Group, Auckland, New Zealand
Preservation Architect: Salmond Reed Architects, Auckland, New Zealand

The City Council wanted to create a central underground transport station; increase the desirability and image of public transportation; upgrade harbor and gulf ferries and buses; and redesign terminals near the new train station. Recognizing that downtown Auckland urgently needed revitalization and the original central train station was inconveniently located, the City Council decided to remedy both ailments simultaneously. The resulting design successfully integrates an existing heritage building, the world's only underground diesel train station, a "glasshouse" that links the two projects, and a spirited redevelopment of surrounding streetscapes and public spaces.

SFMOMA hosts 10th Anniversary celebration:

2004-12-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

January 18, 2005 marks the tenth anniversary of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's (SFMOMA)'s Mario Botta designed building on Third Street.

An instant architectural landmark from its opening in 1995, the building has dramatically enhanced the San Francisco skyline and anchors the South of Market neighborhood as a burgeoning arts center. Its grand scale has allowed the Museum to mount more exhibitions, hold more education programs, host more visitors, and welcome more members than previously possible in the old location on Van Ness Avenue.

The Botta building also allows the Museum to highlight its own collection that has been growing over the past decade, a collection that is equally as extraordinary as the building itself. "The grandeur of our new building inspired the institution to acquire extensively and impressively over the past decade," commented SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra. "Since the opening we've developed one of the nation's leading collections of modern and contemporary art. We've acquired several landmark works such as Robert Rauschenberg's Erased De Kooning Drawing, 1953; Les Valeurs personnelles (Personal Values), 1952, by Rene Magritte; Louise Bourgeois's The Nest, 1994; and Splitting: Four Corners, 1974, by Gordon Matta-Clark, among many others."

SFMOMA opens its doors to the public to celebrate the tenth anniversary with a special community day on Saturday, January 22.

My Favorite Things ....

2004-11-30T13:13:00.000-05:00

The Olman coffee table is just one of many pieces crafted by Nikolas Piper and on display at niksproject.com.

"Nik's Project presents a limited collection of pieces designed by Nikolas Piper for specific projects ordered by foundations and private institutions. The combination of traditional forge and modern technologies which Nikolas combines in his designs create these timeless pieces of furniture whose outstanding features are their organic, sensual and functional characteristics."

From My Library

2004-11-30T09:46:00.000-05:00

The New York Times,
"Anthropology of the present: the entries in a new softcover series of design directories have the chunky heft of a Boy Scout Handbook. Paola Antonelli, the Museum of Modern Art's curator for design and architecture, wrote the books' introductions. They take an anthropological viewpoint and, she said, "Nothing could be more interesting." Interesting, but not stuffy."

Product Description:

With their affordable modernism for the home--from Alvar Aalto to Ikea--the Scandinavians have taught the world the significance of good design. Design Directory: Scandinavia is the definitive guide to and a stunning celebration of the designers of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, who have created icons ranging from Volvos to Legos and more. Included within this fine directory are noted designers and companies such as: Alvar & Aino Aalto, Gunnar Asplund, Arabia, Artek, Bla Station, Marten Claesson, Box Design, Niels Gammelgaard, Garsnas, Kallemo, Iform, Marimekko, Louis Poulsen, Bang & Olufsen, Arne Jacobsen, John Kandell, Kasthall, Kaare Klint, Hans Wegner and many more. Pick up a copy!

2004-11-30T09:32:00.000-05:00

A failed experiment can be more important than a trivial design. Verner Panton

Wish Upon A Star - I Would Love To Be A

2004-11-30T09:16:00.000-05:00

Best of NeoCon 2004 Interior Designer Jurors... how can I join this elite group?

Ms. Clare Ardizzone, IIDA, Senior Associate, A3C
Ms. Jennifer Barnes, IIDA, CID, Associate Vice President, RTKL Associates
Ms. Linda Bishop, IIDA, Vice President, Director of Interiors, FKP Architects
Ms. Katie Bowman, IIDA, ASID, VOA Associates
Ms. Jean Buckley, Principal, Buckley & Associates, Inc.
Ms. Mary A. Burke, AIA IIDA, Director of Interiors, Gruzen Samton LLP
Ms. Jan Dufault, IIDA, Senior Interior Designer, Mohagen/Hansen
Ms. Tama Duffy, ASID, Senior Associate
Ms. Martha J. Ginn, CID, Vice President, D'Aleo Interiors
Ms. Lois Goodell, IIDA, Principal/Director of Interior Design, CBT
Ms. Jana Gunsul, IIDA, ISPE, Senior Associate, DES Architects + Engineers
Mr. Rod Hammer, IIDA, Associate, Hillier
Mr. Mark D. Harbick, AIA, Vice President, Huntsman Architectural Group
Ms. Karen Kopicki, IIDA, Interior Designer, Susman Tisdale Gayle
Mr. Daniel Krause, Managing Principal, Nelson /Charlotte
Mr. Jaime Machado, Principal, Machado+Marsky Designs
Ms. Linda Marshall, IIDA, Linda Marshall Associates, IIDA
Ms. Bharti Parikh, IIDA, ASID, Bharti A. Parikh Interior Design Services
Mr. Ronald A. Reed, IIDA, FAIA, Principal, Westlake Reed Leskosky
Mr. Joseph Rondinelli, Senior Associate, Shepley Bulfinch RA
Mr. Nestor Santa-Cruz, IIDA, Partner, SKB Architecture and Design
Mr. Bruce Sienkowski, Principal, 2B Studio Inc.
Ms. Sue Specht, Designer, TVS Interiors
Ms. Kimberly R. Williams, IDC, Principal, Director of Interior Design, Kling
Mr. Douglas Zalis, AIA, IIDA, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC

Or a Best of NeoCon 2004 Facilities Manager Jurors....

Ms. June Blanchard, Manager of Design and Standards, Global Realty Services, State Street Corporation, Boston

Ms. Kim Brannan, Vice President, Sales and Facility Services, Precision Office Furniture Installation, St. Louis

Ms. Celia Boyle, Facilities Planner II, AIM Investments, Houston

Ms. Gail Edmiston, Facilities Planning Manager, AIM Investments, Houston

Mr. Dave Falls, CFM, Facility Manager, WW Grainger, Inc., Lake Forest, Illinois

Ms. Doreen Fentress, Vice President, Technical Director-Facilities, Quality Technical Services, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia

Ms. Mary Freemire, Real Estate Program Manager, Career Education Corporation, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Ms. Monica M. Gailus, Assistant Facility Manager, Sargent & Lundy LLC, Chicago

Ms. M. Alice Hogueisson, Vice President, Edelman, Chicago

Mr. Joseph Lajeune, ASID, IIDA, Chicago

Mr. James J. Jaksa, NCARB, CFM, Vice President, Facilities and Services, Horizon, Michigan City, Indiana

Ms. Sharon H. Kasachkoff , Facilities Director, Jackson Walker L.L.P., Dallas

Ms. Paula Mengarelli, Manager, Facilities, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Security and Corporate Services, Lincolnshire, Illinois

Ms. Olimpia Oree, Senior Facility Consultant, FUSION Facilities Team, Facilities Projects, Sun Life Financial, Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Dom Ruggerio, Principal, Ruggerio & Associates, Inc., Chicago

Ms. Patricia Ryan, Manager, FF+E, Worldwide Facilities Group, General Motors Corporation,

Ms. Genevieve Salvacion, Facilities Management, Presbyterian Homes, Evanston, Illinois

Ms. Mariann Schofield, HQ AFSPC/CECP Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base

Ms. Elise Friedman Shapiro, IIDA, Senior Facilities Planner

Mr. Scott Sherman, Manager, MTVN Facilities Planning & Management, Central Region, MTV Networks, Chicago

Ms. Sandra W. Warner, IIDA, Headquarters Air Force Command EE/TDD, Brooks City-Base, Texas , McLean, Virginia

I guess it would take more than just "knowing what I like", maybe a successful architecture/design career or a facility to manage... Like I said "wish upon a star." :-)

My Favorite Things...

2004-11-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

Ambassad Chair designed by Mats Theselius.

Belt leather upholstery around a steel frame. Crafted in Sweden by Kallemo.

2004-11-29T14:32:00.000-05:00

In modern society, the father may be a stone mason, the mother a teacher and the daughter a movie star. The modern dwelling must be built to meet all these requirements. Alvar Aalto

Rice Design Alliance - Civic Forums

2004-11-29T14:22:00.000-05:00

Earth, Fire, and Wind
A Series of Three Civic Forums Sponsored by the Rice Design Alliance

This season, RDA's civic forums will focus on the Houston region's self-assessment at the beginning of a new century. In June, Part 1, Earth, addressed the successes and challenges in shaping the face of our residential life through various neighborhood organizations and activists.
In September, the second forum, Fire, focused on the current economic engines and their impact on the city form. The final forum, to be held at 7pm on December 1, will address the larger forces beginning to coalesce that will reconfigure our region, including economic, environmental, and social conditions.

Panelists:

James D. Calaway, CEO, Center for Houston's Future
David Crossley, President, Gulf Coast Institute
Nestor Rodriguez, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology,
University of Houston and Co-Director, Center for Immigration Research

Brown Auditorium, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
1001 Bissonnet (Enter via the Main Street Door)

Parking at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is available for $3 in the museum garage located at the corner of Binz and Fannin.

Admission is free and open to the public.

This program is supported in part by Crescent Real Estate Equities, Ltd.; Intell Management and Investment Company; The Invironmentalists; KUHF 88.7 FM; MetroNational; Schenck and Company; Trammell Crow Company; Walter P. Moore; Webb Architects; The Corporate Members of the Rice Design Alliance; and the City of Houston/Harris County through the Cultural Arts Council.

The Rice Design Alliance is an AIA/CES Registered Provider of quality educational programs. For this civic forum, attendees will earn one Learning Unit/Health, Safety, Welfare, which will be reported to CES Records on the member's behalf. Registration at the lecture is required. Non-AIA members may request a Certificate of Completion to fulfill state MCE requirements.

From My Library

2004-11-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

Because design is all around us, it often goes unnoticed unless it's strikingly awful--as in the case of an uncomfortable chair or a pen that's too large to hold correctly. Conversely, great design is commonly overlooked because it performs so well--the perfect typeface or an ever-present logo, for example. An Yves Saint Laurent woman's dinner jacket worn without a shirt and an Eero Aarnio bright orange ball chair from the 1960s, however, are two wonderful designs that won't soon be lost in the shuffle. World Design, an encyclopedia of some of the best designed objects and ideas of the 20th century, takes readers on a visual tour of smart things designed for living. Arranged alphabetically by designer, it begins with beautiful Aino Aalto (the wife of Alvar) ridged glassware from the 1930s. The pressed glass rings that encircle these pitchers and drinking glasses were originally conceived as a means to hide imperfections in the material, but the visual simplicity has been routinely imitated by other designers since then. At the other end of this thick book, readers will find a page for Marco Zanuso, the Italian industrial designer who created a yellow plastic portable television in 1964. In between, readers are treated to glimpses of iconic objects by Le Corbusier and Issey Miyake as well as newer, innovative designs such as a chair made of a transparent gel originally used only in medicine. Along with the beautiful, these pages document objects that changed our world: Earl S. Tupper's ingenious, now-ubiquitous containers revolutionized food storage when they were introduced with their airtight lids in the late 1930s. At a hefty 432 pages with 1,000 color photographs, this book is full of fascinating information and wonderful images that track the last 100 years of influential design.

IIDA Chapter President: 2004-2005

2004-11-29T13:44:00.000-05:00

IIDA has announced the new Chapter Presidents for 2004-05. Congratulations go out to:

Chapter President
Alabama - Tommie Sledge Ford IIDA
Carolinas - Jeannine M Rodgers IIDA
Delta Regional - Heidi E Meibaum IIDA
Florida - Alex Bonet IIDA
Georgia - Laura M Bailey FIIDA
Great Plains - Heather Van Essen IIDA
Guadalajara Mexico - Rita Beatriz Sanchez Larrauri IIDA
Illinois - Jennifer A. Carzoli IIDA
Indiana - Donna Miller IIDA
Japan - Mieko Nakayama IIDA
Mexico City - Morales Arambula IIDA
Michigan - Christina L. Johnson IIDA
Mid America - Kevin Carr IIDA
Mid Atlantic - Michael S. Polovina IIDA
North California - David Meckley IIDA
Northern Pacific - LaRayne J. Arnold IIDA
New England - Diane L. Hanley IIDA
New York - Gerald F. Geier IIDA
Northland - Sheila H. Mozayeny IIDA
Ohio Kentucky - Jeffrey G. Gillispie IIDA
Oregon - Lisa Zangerle IIDA
Portugal - Bruno de Viterbo IIDA
Rocky Mountain - Judy Schvaneveldt IIDA
Southern California - Linda W. Isley IIDA
Southwest - Rebecca Tomasek IIDA
Tennessee - Debbie Ross IIDA
Texas Oklahoma - Michelle Rees IIDA
Virginia West Virginia - Jennifer Meier Canfield IIDA
Wisconsin - Susan Wohlitz IIDA

My Favorite Things....

2004-11-29T13:34:00.000-05:00

Borge Mogensen's Spanish Chair. A true classic designed by Danish master, Borge Mogensen. Originally designed in the early 50's, this wonderful chair is still manufactured by Fredericia and available in the USA and Canada through Hightower Group.

2004-11-29T11:39:00.000-05:00

"Affluence offers the kind of freedom I am deeply suspicious of. It offers freedom from restraint and it is virtually impossible to do something without restraints." Charles Eames

NY AIA Member Updates

2004-11-29T11:14:00.000-05:00

MEMBER UPDATE for the AIA New York Chapter and the Center for Architecture.

Newly Licensed Architects, Congratulations!
Andrew Bernheimer, AIA, Della Valle & Bernheimer Design Inc
Michael C.Y. Fei, AIA, Michael C.Y. Fei
Rolando Kraeher, AIA, Murphy Burnham & Buttrick, LLP
Philip C. Maguire, AIA, Weiser LLP
Michael M. Samuelian, AIA, NYC Department of City Planning
Stephen A. Varone, AIA, Rand Engineering, PC

New Associate Members
John H. Acton, Assoc. AIA, Kenneth Park Architects
Benson B. Billespie, Assoc. AIA, Cesar Pelli & Assoc.
Meredith L. Bostwick, Assoc. AIA, Hillier Architecture
John E. Czarnecki, Assoc. AIA, John Wiley & Sons
Erica S. Freeman, Assoc. AIA, Allen & Killcoyne Associates
Ellie J. Gamburg, Assoc. AIA, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC
Campbell R. Garratt, Assoc. AIA, Allen & Killcoyne Associates
Christopher A. Hendrickson, Assoc. AIA, Studio JS2
Terrance Allen Jones, Jr., Assoc. AIA, Architecture Research Office
Zubair A. Kazi, Assoc. AIA, William Nicholas Bodouva & Associates
Anna Klingmann, Assoc. AIA, Cornell University College of Architecture
Min-Chang Lee, Assoc. AIA, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Architects LLP
Cheng-Hao Lo, Assoc. AIA, Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP
Rose Mehrkhah, Assoc. AIA, New York Transit Authority
Lionel Ohayon, Assoc. AIA, Icrave Design Studio
Christian E. Salvati, Assoc. AIA
Maria Sutter, Assoc. AIA, Suben/Dougherty Partnership
Michelle Swanson, Assoc. AIA
Na Wei, Assoc. AIA, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects

New Registered Architect Members:
Kimberly A. Ackert, AIA, Ackert Architecture, PC
Kenneth O. Bainton, AIA, Kouzmanoff Bainton Architects
Micheal E. Bardin, AIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Christian G. Bjone, AIA, SBLM Architects, P.C.
Christopher J. Broshears, AIA, Rafael Vinoly Architects, P.C.
Michael K. Buesing, AIA, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Arch. & Eng.
Un-Peng Chan, AIA, Pei Partnership Architects LLP
Edward H. Chang, AIA, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC
John T. Clappi, AIA, Richard Meier & Partners
Todd A. Cossman, AIA, Rafael Viñoly Architects, P.C.
Anthony Cucich, AIA, Anthony Cucich-R.A.
Martin Finio, AIA, Christoff:Finio Architecture
Daniel Frisch, AIA, Daniel Frisch Architect, PC
Joseph E. Gall, AIA, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects
Michael A. Hayes, AIA, The Phillips Group
Thomas A. Lanzelotti, AIA, Gensler
Steven Lee, AIA, Davis Brody Bond, LLP
Jose Arturo Madrigal, AIA, Larsen Shein Ginsberg Snyder, LLP
Brian K. Marsh, AIA, Dennis Wedlick Architect, LLC
Leo Modrcin, AIA, URED Architecture
Randall G. Morton, AIA, Cooper Robertson & Partners
Norman Nemec, AIA, North Shore Architecture and Interiors
Jayne Rattiner, AIA, Karlsberger Architecture PC
David P. Reese, AIA, Bovis Lend Lease
Mary Rusz, AIA, New York City Housing Authority
Philip A. Santantonio, AIA, KM Associates of NY, Inc.
Michael B. Schiff, AIA, DMJM + Harris
Galia Solomonoff, AIA, Openoffice
Christopher H. Stone, AIA, Stonefox Design, LLC
James A. Vira, AIA, Dattner Architects
Tobert Yu, AIA, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Arch. & Eng.

New Center for Architecture Professional Members.
Bethany Alexander, Catt Lyon Design, Inc.
Catt Lyon, Catt Lyon Design, Inc.
Nadine Chin-Santos, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.C
Amy Victoria Dachs, Amy Dachs Associates
Barbara Eberlein, ASID, Eberlein Design Consultants Ltd.
Kenneth K. Fisher, Philips Nizer LLP
Sally A. Handley, Sally Handley, Inc.
Bryce Hejtmancik, LEED, Fox & Fowle Architects
Mark Maljanian, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects
Susan Dunlope Masi, Fox & Fowle Architects
Thomson, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects
Tracy Turner, Tracy Turner Designs
Mary Williamson, Brennan Beer Gorman

Members transferred in. Welcome to New York!
Tamar Kisilevitz, Assoc. AIA, Scarano & Associates Architects
Anna Lira V. Luis, Assoc. AIA
Michael A.P. Casolo, AIA, Waldner's Business Environments, Inc.
Ralf M. Dremel, AIA, Polo Ralph Lauren
Paul Simon Keene, AIA
Sangwoo Lee, AIA, Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, LLP
Stuart Narofsky, AIA, Narofsky Architecture & Design

The "Bible" of Chair Collecting

2004-11-28T23:39:00.000-05:00

If you don't already have it on your shelf, all I can say is BUY IT.

Editorial Reviews. Amazon.com. 1000 Chairs. Sleek, stuffed, buttoned, or bent, in the den or the dining room, the chair is an indicator of its owner's identity. Chairs make up much of the interior landscape of our homes and workplaces, and a comfortable chair is considered a great asset in either location.

A rigorous survey of the last 150 years of chairs, 1000 Chairs is a pictorial guide to the axiom "you are where you sit." Writers Charlotte and Peter Fiell argue that, as well as being an icon of identity, the chair is a form through which designers engage in social, political, and even ergonomic rhetoric.

A good example is George Nelson's mass-produced modular seating system. Geometrical in design, its austere, mostly rectilinear lines are efficient and economical. The book follows developments and mutations in chair design from the days before art deco through the rise of modernity and into the mid-'90s, when designers like Philippe Starck used such materials as recycled plastic and injection molded polypropylene.

In total there are more than the 1000 advertised illustrations, and each is accompanied by a small text describing the significance of the chair and its designer. The book includes more than 100 capsule biographies of such designers as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Adolph Loos, and Marcel Breuer. The only problem with 1000 Chairs is, ironically, its own ergonomics. At about eight by six inches and nearly 800 pages, it is an unwieldy little tome. That aside, this is a great book--a must for anyone interested in sitting down.

2004-11-28T23:11:00.000-05:00

DUNBAR Furniture. The company that was heralded as the "best of their time" during the peak of midcentury modern design is once again a leading supplier of fine furniture "to the trade."

The spirit of Edward J Wormley is being presented to a new generation of young receptive designers. As an owner of over a dozen vintage pieces and the satisfied buyer of a new Listen-To-Me chaise, I highly recommend DUNBAR.

Seattle Public Library - Rem Koolhas.

2004-11-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

Seattle Public Library. Designed by renowned architect Rem Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), and Seattle-based LMN Architects, the new 363,000-square-foot Seattle Public Library is offically open to the public.

The $165 million library was designed to reflect both the building's content and how it will be used. The new structure, on the site where Seattle's first permanent public library was built in 1906, has space for 1.4 million books -- a half-million more than its predecessor -- and is equipped with more than 400 computers.

The new library will house the library's main collection of books, government publications, periodicals, audio visual materials and the technology to access and distribute information from the physical collection online.

The building is divided into horizontal layers, each varying in size and shape. Each of these levels has its own function, including "the Living Room," featuring long couches and a coffee bar; "the Reading Room," a more traditional setting; and the "Teen Center." A "Mixing Chamber" has a reference center that includes 132 public computers, wireless hot spots for people to research on their own laptops, and a conference room.

Children will have a 15,000-square-foot area for their books, six times larger than in the old library. There is also a 275-seat auditorium which can be expanded by 150 seats, connecting the two main entries, while a soaring atrium lobby extends along the southern half of the building. The building features five main "platforms," or levels, that are pushed and pulled out, creating an angular effect. Appearing as if it has just been through an earthquake one layer stacked and shifted upon the next. Between these platforms are floating layers, which provide the libraries public spaces. The asymmetric form(s) create not only a work of art, but are sure to serve as a magnet that will spark excitement for both the library and the surrounding context. Koolhaas stated "it would be a pity to be as boring as the context." The building appears transparent, clad in two layers of glass -- between which are steel tubes that join together to form a lattice of diamond shapes.

The steel-tubed skin of the new library, Koolhaas said, "not only provides the main structural support for the building but also modulates light and, with built-in coolers and filters, controls internal air temperature." He noted the building is "pre-quaked," with its irregular shape helping to counteract the movement of an earthquake. With an array of brilliant yellow escalators, colorful floor and wall treatments, waist-high signage, cavernous hallways, the library assist in providing a fun filled learning experience.

Instead of being a boring book warehouse this library demands investigation. Circulation through the library includes a continuous square ramp winding upward through four levels of the entire non-fiction collection. Above the stacks on the tenth floor a reading room with slanted glass walls provides a unique perspective on the Seattle skyline.

MoMA Reopens In New York City

2004-11-28T19:27:00.000-05:00

Throughout its history, The Museum of Modern Art has used architecture as a vehicle for self-renewal and regeneration. The recently completed building project represents MoMA's most extensive redefinition since its founding seventy-five years ago. The Museum combines new spaces with MoMA's original architecture to dramatically enhance its dynamic collection of modern and contemporary art.

MoMA conducted an extensive worldwide search for an architect who would not simply add on to the Museum's existing architecture, but would be able to transform MoMA's various buildings and additions into a unified whole. Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi won the commission with a design that would, in his own words, " to transform MoMA into a bold new museum while maintaining its historical, cultural, and social context."

The 630,000-square-foot Museum has nearly twice the capacity of the former facility. The new six-story David and Peggy Rockefeller Gallery Building houses the main collection and temporary exhibition galleries. Taniguchi worked closely with curators to refine his concept into a design that would expertly accommodate the type and scale of works displayed. Spacious galleries for contemporary art are located on the second floor, with more intimately scaled galleries for the collection on the levels above. Expansive, sky-lit galleries for temporary exhibitions are located on the top floor. MoMA's Film and Media program resumes in the two refurbished Titus Theaters, located below the lobby level.

In the expanded Museum Lobby, Taniguchi takes inspiration from the unique vitality of the streets of midtown Manhattan. This bustling interior promenade connects Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth Streets and offers spectacular views of both The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden and a light-filled atrium that soars 110 feet above street level. The lobby also serves as the Museum's "information center" with multiple ticket counters; information about membership, exhibitions, and programs; and access to the Museum's theaters, restaurant, stores, and garden.

Masterworks of modern sculpture, seasonal plantings, and reflecting pools once again welcome visitors to the beloved Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, which Taniguchi identified as "perhaps the most distinctive single element of the Museum today." The architect preserved Philip Johnson's original 1953 design and re-established the garden's southern terrace to create an elegant outdoor patio for The Modern, the Museum's new fine-dining restaurant.

Interior work continues on MoMa's new, eight-story Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building. When complete, it will offer five times more space for educational and research activities, including an expanded Library and Archives, a reading room, a 125-seat auditorium, workshop space for teacher training programs, study centers, and a lobby with magnificent views of the Sculpture Garden.

With his design for The Museum of Modern Art, Taniguchi has demonstrated that architectural expression and the proper environment for looking at art can be brilliantly intertwined. The result, in the architect's own work, is "an ideal environment for art and people [created] through the imaginative and disciplined use of light, materials, and space."

Edward Larrabee Barnes, 1915-2004

2004-11-28T19:22:00.000-05:00

A diehard modernist who never succumbed to the whims of postmodernism, Edward Larrabee Barnes died in September at the age of 89. Trained at Harvard in the 1940s under Walter Gropius, Barnes was part of the second generation of American modernists that included Philip Johnson, I.M. Pei, and Paul Rudolph.

One of Barnes's most beloved works was his 1961 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, a grouping of linked shingled pavilions overlooking the ocean in Deer Isle, Maine, that garnered the 25-Year Award from the AIA in 1994; the jury noted it as an "early and profound example of the fruitful and liberating fusion of the vernacular building traditions with the rationality and discipline of Modern architecture."

In 1989, Barnes told Architecture "I've always been drawn to making things as simple as possible, if you can do that without making them inhuman or dull or oppressive."Barnes got his start after World War II, working for industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, on low-cost, prefabricated housing in California. For the young architect, there was an inextricable link between modern architecture and social commitment, if not enough money. Regardless, after establishing his firm in Manhattan in 1949, he kept his hand in housing, albeit designing private homes. Other lauded works by Barnes include the 1971 Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the IBM Corporate Headquarters tower on Manhattan's Madison Avenue.

Best Practices - Interior Architecture GENSLER

2004-11-28T18:59:00.000-05:00

Gensler has announced their 2004 appointments.

Congratulations go out to; Lisa Amster Patricia Aponte, Hector Ayala, Tim Barry, Donna Becco-Schroeder, Michele Bedard, Stephen Bellairs, Cassie Brekka, David Broz, Joni Calkins, Jeff Campbell, Enrico Caruso, Hunter Clayton, Charlene Collins, Jennifer Cooper, Susana Covarrubias, Dan Craner, Amit Desai, Ravinder Dhillon, Pablo Diaz, Todd Dundon, Colleen Edlund, Ron Ferg, Al Fiesel, Matthew Forn, Luigi Franeschina, Stan Fukawa, Rob Garzke, Gerald Gehm, Phillip Gillard, Jordan Goldstein, Alan Grant, Joe Harris, Julie Henline, Diane Hird, Lauren Howard, Masahiro Iwata, Ted Jacobs, Stephanie Jaeger, Gail Jefferson, William Jenkinson, Andrew Johnson, Ursula Kachler, Ma Ry Kim, Eric Lam, Laura Latham, Joseph Lauro, Janice Legg, Karen Le-Gray, Nadege Lespinasse, Heather Litton, Joseph Lo, Jay Longo, Dare Lovett, Amy Lyons, Daniel Ma, Gin Ma, LoriAnn Maas, Todd PacPherson, John Mader, John Mapes, Steve Martin, Carlos Martinez, Chie Matsushita, Allison Maucere, Scott A. McAllister, Jim Meredith, Andy Meyer, Irwin Miller, Susan Miller, George Miller-Ramos, Neil Mitchell, Tracy Moore, Gary Napper, Janice Natchek, Michael Niemann, Barbara Noguera Frye, Chris Oakley, Trevor Oldridge, Karen Panico, Bronwyn Paterson, Duncan Paterson, Cathy Peterson, Scott Peterson (No, not that Scott Peterson), Carlos Posada, Amanda Pratt, Joan Price, Pearl Pyo, Kate Randolph, Glenn Rasmussen, Beth Readym Nellie Reid, Dee Rendleman, David Robinson, Mari Saito, Erik Sander, Oliver Schaper, Ian Sheardwright, Georgina Showell, Del Shuford, Cindy Simpson, Jessica Risko Smith, Carolyn Sponza, Aimee St. Cyr, Bob Stefko, Christopher Strawbridge, Ram Summan, Timothy Taylor, Tosh Townsend, Maurice Van Eijs, Rosalinda Vejarm James Walker, Leslie Walker, Jim Wallace, Fergal Walsh, Thomas Wang, Joanne Weston, Steve White, Mindy Wieland, Michael Wiener, Eric Wilbur, Chip Williams, Cherrie Wysong, Rebecca Yoder, and Chad Yoshinobu. Wow... thats a lot of people, but Gensler is a big firm. CONGRATS to all!!!!

2004-11-28T18:52:00.000-05:00

Rapson Rocker - The Rapson Rapid Rocker was designed by Ralph Rapson in 1945 as a part of the Knoll "Rapson Line."

A true modernist, Ralph Rapson is a visionary architect and designer, much admired for his forward-thinking structures and furniture designs. His formal training in architecture began in the early 1930's at the University of Michigan. Upon graduation, he was the recipient of a two-year scholarship to the renowned Cranbrook Academy of Art, led by Eliel Saarinen. Cranbrook exposed Rapson to a variety of art and design disciplines, including painting, city planning, sculpture, photography, graphic design, and textile design. All deeply influenced his later architectural and furniture design projects.In the 1940's Rapson moved to Chicago and joined the New Bauhaus, led by Laszio Moholy-Nagy.

He eventually became head of the architectural curriculum at the highly experimental school. During this period, Rapson gained experience transforming the abstract principles of modernism into concrete structural forms. By experimenting with new technologies and materials in novel ways, he created homes with prefabricated structural elements and 'industrial' mechanisms.

When construction was almost stagnant in the late Depression, Rapson competed in a series of groundbreaking architectural contests. Perhaps the most famous and influential of these was the 1945 Case Study Houses competition for Arts and Architecture magazine. Only 31 at the time, Rapson was the youngest architect invited to enter. Some of the other entrants included such stars of modern design as Charles Eames, Richard Neutra, Eero Saarinen and others.

Rapson's design, the Case Study House #4, married prefabricated construction techniques to sophisticated modern design. It won the acclaim of architects and critics alike, and was widely considered one of the most progressive of all the submissions.

In 1946 Rapson joined the faculty of MIT and eight years later was invited to head the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. Under his direction, Rapson revolutionized the school and led it to national prominence. As a testament to Rapson's teaching abilities, twenty-seven of the forty winners of the prestigious Rotch Traveling Fellowship, between 1950 and 1990, were his pupils.

During the 1950's Rapson was selected by the U.S. State Department to design a series of embassies in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Western Europe. In the post-WWII era, these embassies were significant in conveying the cultural leadership of the U.S. Perhaps his best-known work, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis was completed in 1963. An asymmetrical structure with seats placed around a thrust stage, was intended to encourage theatergoers to anticipate "the delight, fantasy, and stimulation of the theater experience itself." Over the last sixty years architecture has weathered many fleeting trends and fads.

Like a rock in the throes of a tempest, Ralph Rapson has maintained an immovable commitment to the basic and best principles of modern architecture. His vision has always been clearly focused on the big picture of architecture – its potential for community betterment and enrichment of the human experience.

Best of Class - Book On Scandiavian Design

2004-11-27T18:24:00.000-05:00

About the Authors. Charlotte J. Fiell studied at the British Institute, Florence and at Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts, London, where she received a BA (Hons) in the History of Drawing and Printmaking with Material Science. She later trained with Sotheby's Educational Studies, also in London.

Peter M. Fiell trained with Sotheby's Educational Studies in London and later received an MA in Design Studies from Central St Martin's College of Art & Design, London. Together, the Fiells run a design consultancy in London specializing in the sale, acquisition, study and promotion of design artifacts. They have lectured widely, curated a number of exhibitions and written numerous articles and books on design and designers, including TASCHEN's Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris, 1000 Chairs, Design of the 20th Century, and Industrial Design A-Z. They also edited the six-volume Decorative Arts series published by TASCHEN.

Scandinavians are exceptionally gifted in design. They are world-famous for their inimitable, democratic designs which bridge the gap between crafts and industrial production. The marriage of beautiful, organic forms with everyday functionality is one of the primary strengths of Scandinavian design and one of the reasons why Scandinavian creations are so cherished and sought after.

This all-you-need guide includes a detailed look at Scandinavian furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, metalware and industrial design from 1900 to the present day, with in-depth entries on over 200 designers and design-led companies, plus essays on the similarities and differences in approach between Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark.

Also included is a list of important design-related places to visit for readers planning to travel to Scandinavia. Featured designers and companies include; Verner Panton, Arne Jacobsen, Alvar Aalto, Timo Sarpaneva, Hans Wegner, Borge Mogensen, Nanna Ditzel. Jonas Bohlin, Tapio Wirkkala, Sigvard Bernadotte, Stig Lindberg, Ingeborg Lundin, Finn Juhl, Absolut, Fritz Hansen, Carl Hansen & Son, Fredericia, Dansk, Artek, Le Klint, Louis Poulsen, Gustavsberg, Iittala, Fiskars, Volvo, Saab, Orrefors, Royal Copenhagen, Holmegaard, Arabia, Marimekko, Georg Jensen and Ikea.

Links To Pacific Northwest Interior Design Sources

2004-11-25T13:56:00.000-05:00