Herman Miller: over a century later

We talk about an American company, Herman Miller, a prominent presence in the vintage market, as some of its classic pieces from the 50s and 60s are as popular now as they were when they were launched: they've modeled the interiors of those decades, but at the same time they hold up the comparison with contemporary design. They are also highly imitated, so much so that Herman Miller had to imprint the authors' signatures on some of its legendary pieces.

 

As a great deal of contemporary design is inspired by nature's sinuous shapes, proposing curved lines furnishings featuring rounded surfaces and a sculptural approach, at the end of the 40s the experimentation of materials and techniques allowing the creation of ergonomic furniture made its way between Europe and America.

From the evolutions of Thonet's bentwood to the winding universe of Carlo Mollino's furniture, passing through the Italian Neoliberty movement, up to the curved plastic Panton Chair designed by Danish Verner Panton, it was Herman Miller to produce ergonomic seats made with innovative techniques in the United States. Already in 1941, with the pioneering New York exhibition "Organic Design in Home Furnishing", the MoMA had been the showcase of this trend.

The first name that is intertwined with Herman Miller is Cranbrook: the Cranbrook Academy of Art was founded in 1925 in a Michigan countryside estate by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950), who was none other than Eero Saarinen's father. Often described as the "American answer" to Bauhaus and active until 1950, Cranbrook will be one of our next intOndo's stories. The talents produced by this prolific community of designers, which identified its main reference in the English Arts & Crafts movement, catched the attention of two great American companies: Herman Miller and Knoll International.

 

The first Herman Miller's firm, initially called Star Furniture Company, was located in Zeeland, Michigan; it was 1905 and designer D.J. De Pree was the brand's president. De Pree, who in 1923 changed the company's name into that of his father-in-law, Herman Miller, firmly believed that «design must be the final expression of an idea, so that by studying that particular object we realize that it was the only, inevitable, final solution».

 

1923 also coincided with the assignment of Herman Miller's artistic direction to New York architect Gilbert Rhode, which marked the turning point for Herman Miller towards a more distinctly modern design style, featuring Déco hints; unfortunately, the historical moment was difficult, the retail market much depressed, and Rhode's elegant sideboards, dressing tables and chairs did not find immediate success among the public, even if today they are highly sought after in the vintage market, due to their sophisticated appeal.

 

Obstacles preluded to triumph: in 1945 architect George Nelson (1907-1986) became the artistic director of Herman Miller after being noted for the design of a modular furniture system dividing domestic spaces, a wall storage unit which, observed with contemporary eyes, is the quintessence of the American 50s interior, where furniture was based on a few pieces, with the consequent increase in space. This was a context in which chairs inevitably became the leading actresses, and in order to put avant-garde seating projects into production, Nelson brought to Herman Miller a few Cranbrook Art Academy designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, authors of the famous molded plywood chairs — among the most recognizable is the 1945 Birch LCW — which Pree himself praised as «beautiful, comfortable, easy to move; it is not possible to improve them further, they are a national treasure that must be made available».

 

This furniture was simple in style but accompanied by impeccable execution and the use of technology to obtain totally new shapes. Among the most iconic were the walnut stools by the Eames, the Marshmallow sofa and the Bubble lamps by George Nelson, the IN50 coffee table made of wood and crystal designed by Isamu Noguchi; this repertoire was flanked by the bright fabrics of the whimsical Franco-American Alexander Girard, who lead the fabrics division of the company, and who juxtaposed to organic furnishings his geometric textiles, decorated with abstract shapes in a wide variety of chromatic compositions, today faithfully reproduced by Vitra.

In 1960, designer Robert Propst established the Research Corporation within the company, aimed at revolutionizing the office space, and he invented the Action Office in 1968: otherwise known as the "cubicle", this was the first modular workstation. From now on, Herman Miller started to focus on the production of office solutions, while remaining faithful to its trademark ergonomic design: a topic that we will address again soon in our trends of the season anticipations. Keep following us!