Architects are–by training but also by nature–control freaks. Given the opportunity (and the budget), they will prescribe every conceivable aspect of a project.
Frank Lloyd Wright was notorious for his compulsion to design furniture, fabrics, lighting, decorative objects and tableware in addition to art glass windows, built-in cabinetry, millwork, hardware and other applied decoration, so that his houses would function as integrated, organic wholes. He even reportedly went so far as to dictate the type of clothing the residents should wear at home.
Many 20th Century architects adopted Wright’s approach, and today, architect-designed objects–both vintage and newly manufactured–are highly coveted by collectors of the decorative arts.
They’ve also had an impact on mainstream culture–high-, middle- and even lowbrow. Cognoscenti gobbled up Robert A.M. Stern, Richard Meier and Stanley Tigerman’s stylishly “po-mo” china designs for swanky dish seller Swid Powell. Furniture designs by Le Corbusier, Marcel Breuer and Charles Eames have been anointed as “classics” (which are all too often poorly knocked off) and Michael Graves’ teakettles and toasters remain among the most popular items in Target stores inventories.
Few architects are as famous for their furnishings as Mies van der Rohe. His tubular steel “Barcelona” chair with black leather pads is arguably the most iconic of all modernist treasures.
S.R. Crown Hall, Mies’ masterpiece on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, provided a fitting venue for the school’s year-end exhibition of student projects and for a select group of objects designed by architects, some of which are pictured here.
Although the building industry seems relatively strong in our slowing economy, today’s architecture students may find it more reasonable to envision themselves designing flatware or a floor lamp than a museum or a sports arena. But that doesn’t mean they can’t leave their mark on design history.
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RESOURCES: Pg. 23: George Nelson “DAX” chair from the Swaged-Leg group for Herman Miller, $2,000, at Wright, Chicago. Pg. 24 (from left): Carlo Scarpa orange bowl, Gio Ponti striped vase and pitcher, and J&L Lobmeyr Ambassador wine decanter by Oswald Haerdtl, all from the private collection of Joan and Gary Gand. “Madeline” glass-top table by Richard Gorman, $3,230, at Manifesto, Chicago. Pg. 25: Poul Volther “Corona” chair, $4,935,available to the trade at Heltzer Inc., Merchandise Mart. Jasper Morrison “Moon” plate by Rosenthal, $94 (five-piece place setting), and “Piano” knife, $70 (five-piece place setting), both at No Place Like, Chicago. Magazine courtesy of the Chicago Architectural Foundation Gift Shop. Pg. 26 (from left): A grouping of three Biproduct lamps designed by Stuart Basseches, from $250 to $450, at No Place Like. Frank Lloyd Wright “Midway” table lamp, $960, at Michael Fitzsimmons Decorative Arts, Chicago. Gae Aulenti vintage 1963 “Pipistrelo” lamp, $2,500, at Wright, Chicago. Jordan Mozer “Nectar” lamp available to the trade at Jordan Mozer & Associates, Chicago. “Melampo” floor lamp by A. Gardere, $650, at Artemide, Chicago. “Glo-ball” lamp by Jasper Morrison, $1,115, available to the trade at Heltzer Inc. Michael Graves “Rachel” lamp for Target, $44.99, at Target. Jordan Mozer “Question Mark” lamp available to the trade at Jordan Mozer & Associates.
