Contemporary Furniture Designers

Exercise 4
FURNITURE & DCOR ELEMENTS
(Module 7)
Jennifer Buttars
July 9, 2016

For Each Designer

Designer Name, Date of Birth and Country of Origin
2-3 furniture examples for each to include
Name of the Piece
Date First Produced
Materials Used

Contemporary Designers

Phillippe Stark
Karim Rashid
Frank Ghery
George Nelson
Patricia Urquiola
Zaha Hadid

Ron Arad
George Nakashima
Gaetano Pesce
Robert Venture

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Philippe Starck

1949 -

1968 - Present

Philippe Starck Louis Ghost Arm Chair, 2002

Injection-molded Polycarbonate

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Philippe Starck

1949 -

1968 - Present

Philippe Starck Large Fauteuil Dr. Sonderbar, 1983

Steel tube with green khaki seat finish (prototype)

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Philippe Starck

1949 -

1968 - Present

Philippe Starck Mademoiselle Chair, 2003

Polycarbonate and upholstery

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Philippe Starck

1949 -

1968 - Present

Philippe Starck King Costes Chair, 1984

Polished die-cast aluminium frame. Bent mahogany or ebonized
mahogany plywood shell and fixed black leatherette seat.

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Karim Rashid

1960 -

c. 1980 - Present

Karim Rashid Inkline Chair, 2011

Frame - Iron and wood, supported by intertwined elastic belts.
Cushioning - Expanded polyurethane foam and acrylic fibres.
Base Iron with polished chrome plating or two-component acrylic
enamel painted with a soft-touch transparent finish.

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Karim Rashid

1960 -

c. 1980 - Present

Karim Rashid Float Sofa, 2012

Wooden Legs, with upholstery from Cairo collection

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Karim Rashid

1960 -

c. 1980 - Present

Karim Rashid Spline Chair, 2002

Steel base, moulded polyurethane foam, leather or
fabric upholstery. Colors only in black and white

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Karim Rashid

1960 -

c. 1980 - Present

Karim Rashid Kairo Chair, 2009

Solid Cedar wood block, machine-shaped to this design,
final smoothing is done by hand

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Frank Ghery

1929 -

c. 1958 - Present

Gehry Grandpa Beaver Chair,

Frank Ghery Cardboard Furniture

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Frank Ghery

1929 -

c. 1958 - Present

WIGGLE CHAIR & STOOL DESIGN BY FRANK O. GEHRY 1972. Size: 85 x 42.5 x 60;
Seat Height 45.5 cms. Material: corrugated cardboard, fiberboard, round timber

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

Frank Ghery

1929 -

c. 1958 - Present

Frank Ghery Face Off caf table and 4 Cross Check arm chairs, 1990
Maple wood

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

George Nelson

1908-1986

1936-1986

George Nelson Platform Bench, 1946

Ebonized wood (or polished chrome) legs with solid wood slats
spaced to let air and light through, sealed with a clear-coat finish,
and finger-jointed for superior strength,

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

George Nelson

1908-1986

1936-1986

Side view

George Nelson Pair of Side Tables with Storage & Built-in Lamps, c. 1950
Mid-Century Modern

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

George Nelson

1908-1986

1936-1986

George Nelson Vitra Coconut Chair, 1955

Polished aluminium, sheet steel, foam rubber, artificial leather,
chrome-plated round steel

Designer

Year of Birth/Death

Years Active

George Nelson

1908-1986

1936-1986

George Nelson Marshmallow Sofa, 1956

Brushed tubular steel frame with faux-leather/vinyl cushions

Thank you!