Furniture Design
Composite
Furnishings that utilize two or more geometric systems, such as curvilinear and orthogonal, or two or more distinct materials such as stone and wood in one piece are considered composite. The bent, welded, and chromed tubular steel frame in Marcel Breuer's Model B32 (Figure 3.14) is distinct from its black leather seat pan and backrest. Nintendo Power is a display and storage unit organizing the media and hardware for Nintendo's original 8-bit gaming system. The geometry is entirely orthogonal, but the design is a composite of various materials and components with iconic references (Figure 3.15). Isamu Noguchi's coffee table is a composite of biomorphic-shaped wood supports and a curvilinear glass top (Figure 3.16). The shape of the glass top enables versatility for space-planning purposes.
|
Figure 3.15 Nintendo Power, designed and fabricated by Jim Postell (1990). Photography by Jim Postell, 1990.
|
|
|
Figure 3.16 Coffee table, designed by Isamu Noguchi for Herman Miller (1947). Made with a plate glass top and solid walnut base. 50 inches wide; 36 inches deep; 15% inches high (127 cm wide; 91.5 cm deep; 40 cm high). Photography by Phil Schaafsma. Courtesy of Herman Miller, Inc.
|
|
|
Figure 3.14 Model B32, designed by Marcel Breuer (1928). Photography by Jim Postell, 2005.
|
|
People from different cultural backgrounds view the built environment in different ways. Correlations between furniture, culture, and use develop into complex associations between built form and culture. Culture is a …
Modernism is more than a style. It is a philosophical way of thinking about architecture and design. It came into being in an emerging industrial world that rapidly embraced mechanization. …
What distinctions can be made between aesthetics, a personal reaction to physical or visual stimuli and is subjective. Pleasure is revealed by sensation through the tactile nature of materials, finishes, …
