Herman Miller.

We had a speaker from the Herman Miller Furniture store come in to our class and give us a brief history on the company. The company is based in Zeeland, Michigan and was founded in 1905. The original name of the company was Michigan Star Furniture Co.; however, the company decided to sell their business and a man named De Pree who worked for Michigan Star Furniture Co. for several years asked his father-in-law to give him the money to purchase the company. Once De Pree aquired the business he named it after his father-in-law, Herman Miller.

The Herman Miller company designs modern furniture for offices as well as residential homes. Some of their most famous furniture includes the aeron chair, equa chair, noguchi table, the marshmallow sofa, and the Eames lounge chair.

Aeron Chair



Marshmallow Chair



Eames Lounge Chair




Herman Miller also strives to be as sustainable as possible. An example of this is when one of their facilities had an issue with paper wasps attacking their employees whenever they went outside, the company could have called an exterminator to spray down the whole place, but instead they hired a bee keeper and brought in honey bees to fend off the paper wasps; this is a "natural" way to get rid of the wasps rather than using poisons. The honey bees are also shipped to warmer climates in the winter time so that they can enjoy warmer climates while it is cold in Michigan over the winter season and brought back when the weather warms up.

Peer Reviews: Modernism.

Emma: I thought she did a good job of touching on each of the main architects of the modernism movement. I also really liked Emma's second choice for her modern day example of Modernism.

Happy: I love how happy made a lot of detailed lists, it made the material easy to understand and helped keep the blog post on point. Also, the imperial hotel in Japan looks really cool!

Modernism.

Modernism emerged between the 1900s- 1950s with Art Nouveau and and Prarie Style being the main inspiration and contributors to the new modernism design. There were a lot of new technological contributions during this time period; skyscrapers, cars, trains, photography, and moving pictures. This new, forward thinking design was very much anti-historical and became pro-industrial, with functionality being one of their main concerns.

International Style: International Style was a design form during the 1920s and 1930s and the main points you can take from 'International Style' includes "the expression of volume rather than mass, the emphasis on balance rather than preconceived symmetry, and the expulsion of applied ornament".
                Characteristics of International Style: 

• simplification of form
• rejection of ornamentation
• glass, steel, and concrete as preferred materials
• transparency of buildings
• acceptance of industrialized mass productions

               International Style Architects:

• Frank Lloyd Wright- American
• Walter Gropius- German; Style: Unornamented, functional, and industrial feel
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• Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe- German; Design features: Onyx marble screen, Structural elements had a mirror polished steel
• Le Corbusier- France; most know for urban design

Modern Day Examples: