10 Designers

1. Alvar Aalto-

V.S.O.P Vase

Opera House 1959

1898-1976
Avar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland in 1898. He graduated from Helsinki Polytechnic in 1921. His career experience included: opening his own practice, Professor of Architecture at MIT, and President of the Academy of Finland.
Though Aalto’s earlier work had underlines of Neoclassicism, through the years it adapted to work with the Modern Movement. Through his style, he was able to create functional structures that doubled in being non-reductionalist as well. He adapted the usual modern architecture into a new Finnish concept and he found ways to work with site, form, and material that had positive feedback.
His work spanned over several countries and he would often work on multiple projects at once. In doing so, he would take ideas from one design, and incorporate it into the other to create a unique concept.

As I looked at the work he had done, I found myself comparing one to the other. In the end, I decided to post these two pictures up because they are so similar. The most obvious detail to note is that they are both white. Also, where I found the most similarity, was the curve formation; they both have this interesting wave effect.


2. Rem Koolhaas-

Seattle Public Library

Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre in the UAE

1944-
Rem Koolhaas was born in 1944, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Before he was and architect, he was a writer. He graduated from the Architecture Association School in London and began his career as an Architecture Critic. In 1975, he founded the office for Metropolitan Architecture in London where he focused on contemporary design.
He is termed a Modernist, Deconstructivist, and Humanist. His structures try to link humans to technology.

I was amazed by Koolhaas' work. It is so intricate and the attention to detain to superb. I especially love how much he uses glass, as well as how he is able to make buildings and other structures take on such unusual shapes.

3.
Ron Arad-
Loop Loom
Ron Arad Big Easy Chair
Ron Arad was born in 1951, in Tel Aviv. He studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Art before moving to study at the Architectural Associating in London.
He is well know for his unusual combinations of concepts and materials. Arad is not afraid to use new materials and experiment for interesting designs. He is also known for the fact that he is highly influenced by past designers and products.
His furniture is described as art furniture.His work also suggests movement, due to his use of graphic or gestural lines that reference organic forms.
I love these designs. They are so unconventional and unlike anything I have ever seen, not just because of the design, but also because of the materials used. The only problem I have is the functionality. How could these possibly be comfortable? The lounge looks especially uncomfortable; it looks like the balance could be off.

4.Paul R. Williams
1894-1980

Paul R. Williams was born in 1894. He studied at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design as a Landscape Architect. After finishing Southern California, he received his Architectural License, the first African American to do so West of the Mississippi.
Williams is known for mastering the "upside down" drafting effect where he would draft upside down in order for his clients to see the concept right side up.
In his 60 year career, he designed an incredible number of over 2,000 residential homes.
How often do you see a pool this beautiful? It almost seems like you can't call it a pool, it is more like a container of water that houses a piece of art. The tile that spans the length of the pool looks very good underwater. It must have taken thousands of tiles to achieve this affect.
5. Maya Lin


Vietnam Memorial, Washington D.C Wave Field
Maya Lin was born on October 5, 1959, in Athens Ohio. She is well known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She studied at Yale University where she produced her most notable piece of work. At age 21, she won a design contest and in turn designed the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.
Lin is noted for her ability to convey complex ideas using natural materials and simple forms. She works in a way that relates her work with the land around her.

I never would have imagined that something like the Vietnam Memorial could be the product of the same designer who created this hilly grassy piece. The Memorial is so simple and understated, but at the same time incredibly impacting. The Grassy Hills are simple, yes, but they are much more obvious that the Memorial. The Hills incorporate nature on a whole new level. I like them, they remind me of mole tunnels.

Walter Gropius
1883-1969

F-51 Armchair

Gropius House Lincoln, Massachusetts

Walter Gropius was born in Berlin in 1883. He studied at Munich and Berlin's Technical Universities. After serving in the war, Gropius left Germany for America, where he became a professor at Harvard.
Gropius is known for his use of modern ideas through material and construction. He is also known for his ideas of building, and the transformation using exact mathematical calculations.

Much like Alvar Aalto's work, Walter Gropious' designs very much reflect one another. They are geometric and take advantage of the combination of different materials. The lines in both product and structure are clean and precise. The proportions are planned as well.

7. Milton Glasser



1929-

Born in 1929 and schooled at the Cooper Union Art School and the Academy of fine arts in Bologna, Italy, Milton Glasser was a revolutionary designer from the beginning. His career includes: co-creating Pushpins Studio, New York Magazine, Milton Glasser Inc, etc.
Glasser's most well known work has been that of posters and prints. He has won many awards for his excellence and his work has been honored in one-man shows.
What is so fascinating about these three pieces is that, if they were all looked at separately, then nobody would be able to say that they were made by the same designer. The ' I heart N.Y' sign does not resemble the Bob Dylan album cover in the slightest. Variety, not to mention talent and skill, is what is so interesting about Glasser.