There was a time when architects designed furniture at the start of their careers while patiently waiting for their first buildings to be constructed. In 1972, some six years before Frank Gehry created a stir with his unorthodox house in Santa Monica, California, he was designing his beloved cardboard chairs.
Correction appended January 18, 2008 Ettore Sottsass Photo courtesy The Mohawk Group and Sottsass Associati In a career that spanned seven decades, product designer and architect Ettore Sottsass inspired, provoked, surprised, and amused us with his pioneering ideas and quirky objects. His death on December 31, 2007, at the age of 90, marks the loss of a truly original force. Sottsass is often credited with helping make Italy the center of the design world during the second half of the 20th century. He was part of a generation that included Achille Castiglioni, Vico Magistretti, Bruno Munari, and
Within the span of a few years, Marcel Wanders has made the transition from brazen, young upstart, with his novel designs for the Dutch avant-garde label Droog, to become a leading figure in contemporary design, all the while creating innovative, often quirky objects.
From tables and chairs to buckets and shoe racks, the young German designer Konstantin Grcic (pronounced gir-chic) has an ability to inject both beauty and wit into the objects he creates.
