Test your design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Danish furniture and interior designer who is considered one of the most influential in the 20th century designing such iconic furniture as the Stacking Chair and the Cone Chair?
He was born on Feb. 13, 1926 in Denmark and was an experienced artist in Odense. He studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, graduating in 1951. During the first two years of his career 1950-1952, he worked at the architectural practice of Arne Jacobsen, another Danish architect and furniture designer.
He then set off in his Volksvagen van in a bid to in a bid to explore Europe and at the same time find possible investors. He returned to Denmakr, not with contacts, but full of ideas, and soon landed his first major job - designing the interior of the Komigen Inn. This resulted in the Cone Chair, which was placed in an all-red setting, causing sensation.
During the sixties, he continued his visionary approach. He designed furniture, lamps, textiles, and exhibitions, culminating with the Visiona II interior in the 1970 Cologne Furniture Fair, an amazing fantasy landscape.
He also became known for his innovative architectural proposals, including a collapsible house - the Cardboard House in 1955 and the Plastic House in 1960. At the end of the 1950s, his chair designs became much more unconventional, with no legs or discernible back., like the Cone Chair.
In 1960, he was the designer of the very first single form injection moulded plastic chair, the Stacking Chair or S chair became his most famous and mass produced chair.His other famous chairs include the Peacock Chair and the S chair model 275 Thonet.
In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, he experimented with designing entire environments: radical and psychedelic interiors that were an ensemble of his curved furniture, wall upholstering, textiles, and lighting. He is best-known for the designing of a German boat’s interior, now a famous museum. Additionally he is well known for his innovative work for Der Spiegel, a well-known German publication in Hamburg.
His eccentric style, which was regarded by many as provocative, was an obvious target for criticism, but it is a mistake to think he wasn’t serious. As an innovator, he possessed a remarkable desire to experiment and play, and due to him new shapes, new colours, new materials and new ways of perceiving space were tried out.
He departed from this world too early in 1998, but his dreams live on in thousands and thousands of people and an entire new generation that is still discovering his magical world every day.
Last week’s question:
Who is the Italian born chef who has been key in bringing classical Italian cuisine to Australia with his Buon Ricordo restaurant and cookbooks?
Answer: Armando Percuoco
Winner: Augusto B. Mendoza of Mandaluyong City
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Text your answer to 0915-1371538 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1951, 634-1952. Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
