Intelligent Design - Modern Furniture

This is the third installment on the importance of good design. While it is a very general term, most forms of design do share similar principles and objectives, but simply use different tools to accomplish them. (Information was gathered from the company websites, listed below, and biographies)

We are currently building a project for a family who are fans of modern design, with its’ functional, simple and sleek look. They are considering a wonderfully versatile piece of furniture, the Knoll Maya Lin Stones, as a seating option on their patio (pictured above).

I have long admired these pieces and can just imagine the children pulling the lightweight Stones together around a campfire while the adults can use them as casual seating, ottomans and tables. Part of designer Maya Lin's 60th anniversary collection for Knoll, the Stones collection is inspired by the graceful curves of the earth, the seat tops are slightly concave and table top is slightly convex. These multipurpose polyethylene pieces come in several colors and with optional seat cushions.

Even better, I recently learned that Knoll, one of the worlds’ best know modern furniture companies, is based right here in our area with its’ headquarters located in East Greenville, Montgomery County PA! Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve and endure. For over 70 years, Knoll has explored the power of modern design, combining artistic inventions with functional efficiency. Their outdoor furniture collection also includes the aluminum Toledo chair and Pensi table.

Two of the companies most well know designers also have strong ties to our area. From 1946 to 1954, Knoll produced a series of designs by woodworker and craftsman George Nakashima. For Nakashima, who made each of his designs by hand at his workshop in New Hope, Pennsylvania, this was an opportunity to see how craftsmanship and industry could be joined to create pieces of high quality for large-scale production.

George Nakashima (1905-1990) was born in Spokane, Washington, and grew up in the forests of the Olympic Peninsula. He attended the University of Washington, where he initially studied forestry before switching to architecture then earned his master's degree in architecture at MIT in 1930. Nakashima worked for modern architect Antonin Raymond in Tokyo before returning to the United States. He learned to master traditional Japanese hand tools and joinery techniques from Gentaro Hikogawa, a man trained in traditional Japanese carpentry while both were interned at the camps in Minidoka, Idaho during World War Two.

In 1946, Nakashima agreed to have a few of his designs marketed by Knoll. The relationship between Nakashima and Knoll ended in 1954. Then in 2008, Knoll, in collaboration with Mira Nakashima, reintroduced the Nakashima Straight Chair and Splay–Leg Table to its product line. His studio, George Nakashima Woodworker, S.A., still produces most of Nakashima's original designs, as well as his daughter, Mira's.

Designer, Richard Schultz joined Knoll Associates in 1951 and later served as an integral member of the Company's the Design Development Group. Outdoor furniture was his specialty, believing people want to furnish their gardens as carefully as they furnish their homes. Schultz's 1966 Collection and the Petal Collection, featuring the influential Petal table from Knoll, are among the designers best know. Kathryn Hiesinger, The Philadelphia Museum of Arts’ Curator of Decorative Arts after 1700, said "His outdoor furniture is compelling in part because it has been and continues to be at the defining edge of what is formally and technologically modern."

Though he now designs for his own company, Richard Schultz continues to produce sculptural modern furniture. The company operates from a 250-year old stone farmhouse in Pennsylvania where they enjoy views of the furniture covered by snow, nestled in blowing leaves, and hidden in the grass. Richards Shultz Designs also operates a showroom, the company's flagship store, in the Design & Decoration Building in New York proving that the furniture looks just as good outside a traditional home as it does outside a modern masterpiece.

I find this true of most modern furniture, and think the contrast offered between traditional landscapes and modern furnishings is especially appealing.

Knoll offers visits to its’ museum by appointment. Company information, products and viewing details can be found online at www.knoll.com. George Nakashima Woodworker studio is also open to visitors. Details available at www.nakashimawoodworker.com and finally information on Richard Shultz Designs products, showroom and dealers is offered at www.richardschultz.com