January 18, 2025

history

Best Furniture Design History Lessons Learned in 2023





This year we've seen plenty of new, standout furniture designs (and occasionally some strange ones) pushing the industry forward. But we also find it edifying to look at how furniture problems were solved in the past. Here are the best vintage and antique furniture designs we covered in 2023.

We looked at some ergonomic considerations in early desk designs from 800 years ago.

Early American furniture: Here's a primitive design for a cooling chair, circa 1786.

German industrial designers Kyra Heilig and Lenn Gerlach recovered this 19th-century DIY height-adjustable stool from a farm in Germany's Black Forest.

Designed around 1820, this library table transforms into a ladder for reaching tall shelves.

This line of 19th-century campaign furniture, by Ross and Co. of Dublin, is flatpack furniture that doesn't look flatpack.

In the late 1800s, massive unfolding desks with tons of cubbyholes became trendy.

Pre-Eameses bentwood furniture: Pioneering British designer Gerald Summers created this one-piece plywood chair in 1934.

Steelcase has re-released the Racine Collection, a line of office furniture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1939.

Italian architect Franco Albini designed and built this Veliero bookcase, for himself, in 1940. Here in the 21st century, Cassina reverse-engineered it and put it into production.

Hans J. Wegner's Wishbone Chair was designed in 1949, and has remained in production. This year Carl Hansen & Son released a special version to celebrate Wagner's birthday.

Charlie Brown lived in a world of Mid-Century Modern furniture, back when you could buy it for "peanuts."

A 20th century furniture design feature: leather surfaces that you can re-tighten as they stretch over time.

These pieces of permanent outdoor concrete furniture—still there today--are by Danish designer Poul Kjærholm, circa 1950s.

Carl Hansen & Son also released a 60th anniversary edition of Wegner's CH07 Shell Chair, designed in 1963.

An underappreciated design classic: This JG Folding Stool, designed in 1970 by Danish furniture designer Jørgen Gammelgaard. It's still in production.

Danish furniture designer Dan Svarth designed this Wire Chair in 1972--but it took material science 50 years to catch up. Today it's in production.

These Roller Cabinets, by Danish industrial designer and architect Knud Holscher in the 1970s, were designed as office storage furniture. Today they've been re-marketed for domestic use.

Luigi Colani's Rappelkiste, designed in 1975, is a combination bed/workstation/closet for children.

Designed in 1977 by the Swiss design duo of Ueli Berger and Susi Berger-Wyss, this Fan Man shelving unit was a repudiation of modernism. It's still manufactured today.

From the 1980s/'90s: Swiss architect Mario Botta's Robot chest of drawers is storage piece with a couple of surprises.

Next year we're looking forward…to continue looking backward.


Toronto Developer’s Making Licence Revoked Next “History of Non-Compliance”

The House Building Regulatory Authority (HCRA) announced on Wednesday that it has revoked Albion Building Expert Inc.’s making license, stopping the developer from currently being capable to establish and sell households in Ontario.

The move is the most serious study course of action the regulatory human body can choose towards a licensed builder, and marks the initially time the HCRA has carried out this kind of enforcement due to the fact its start in 2021.

The revocation of Albion’s licence follows what the HCRA describes as a “history of non-compliance with provincial rules and guidelines.”

In 2022, the business was convicted by the Ontario Courtroom of Justice of failing to enrol 11 new houses with the Tarion guarantee program. Albion was sentenced to a complete high-quality of $206,250, which the HCRA says has nonetheless to be paid out.

As nicely, Zamal Hossain, Albion’s Handling Director, was convicted of performing as a director of a organization that unsuccessful to enrol new households. Farida Haque, who is mentioned on Albion’s site as a co-founder, was convicted of performing as a seller of a new home with no being certified.

“Enrolling a household is necessary to guaranteeing purchaser safety,” explained Wendy Moir, the HCRA’s Main Government Officer and Registrar. “Licensed household builders have to act in accordance with the legislation, and with integrity and honesty — or facial area severe consequences.”

Prior to final year’s convictions, Hossain and a corporation described by the HCRA as a “predecessor” to Albion were convicted of developing residences devoid of registering as a builder and for failing to enrol new properties with Tarion in 2016 and 2019.

As these, the HCRA issued a Discover of Proposal to Albion in March 2022 of its intention to deny the company’s licence renewal application.

The regulator has only at any time issued a person other this kind of notice, in September 2022, after Adi Development Group was accused of cancelling contracts and failing to return deposits. The Burlington-based developer correctly appealed the proposal.

Albion, even so, was unsuccessful.

To shield existing homebuyers, the HCRA will permit Albion to full residences that are already underneath design. Upon their completion, or one calendar year just after the attractiveness tribunal’s determination, whichever is initial, the company’s licence will be “immediately” revoked.

According to the Ontario Builder Listing, Albion will only be permitted to establish and provide six houses, all of which are situated in Scarborough: 150 Warden Avenue, 57A Jeavons Avenue, 57B Jeavons Avenue, 13 Queensbury Avenue, 15 Queensbury Avenue, and 92B Sharpe Street.

“Revocation is the most severe consequence for a licensee,” Moir claimed. “Following the completion of the remaining houses, Albion will no longer be capable to do organization, and we sincerely hope this is a exceptional event – but we will use it to send a crystal clear message to the sector and be certain that shoppers are secured.”

In an emailed assertion to STOREYS, Hossain admitted that Albion “failed to enrol a handful of homes,” but that their actions ended up due to Tarion being unable to give them “enough homes to build.”

Hossain said that in 2021, Albion utilized to enrol 15 residences under Tarion, but that the corporation only accepted five. Hossain asked for to maximize the variety of properties authorised, but the procedures and response “took months.” Hossain claimed that as a developing corporation with an increasingly significant client base, he had “no decision just to create.”

“Our agenda driving constructing custom homes is to build great high-quality houses and deliver service. We are rising massive at a quickly speed,” Hossain mentioned in an e-mail. “We are currently being qualified by a lot of unofficially and also victimized by a great deal of discrimination with colour and origin.”

In accordance to courtroom documents from the Licence Appeal Tribunal, Albion applied to enrol 12 houses in 2021, and was authorized for 12. The firm applied to enrol 12 houses in 2020 and was accredited for 5.

“That [Albion] designed and marketed houses when its administrators and officers understood it was not certified to do so and that these households were being not enrolled with Tarion is a significant indicator that the appellant will continue on to do so in the long run,” the paperwork study.

Zoe Demarco is a Employees Author at STOREYS and was previously the Urbanized Editor at Everyday Hive. Born and lifted in Toronto, she has a enthusiasm for the city's ever-switching urban landscape.

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A piece of IU history dealing with demolition

The Poplars Setting up, which has served as a dorm and lodge among the other areas on Seventh Street is staying demolished thanks to high priced upkeep challenges soon after almost 60 a long time. The demolition begun in August 2022.

The Poplars Making was originally crafted in 1964 to be a luxurious dorm for woman learners at IU right until 1967 when it transformed into a hotel. In 1972, IU procured the setting up and transformed it into business office space. According to an post revealed by the O’Neill School of Community and Environmental Affairs, the building was the original dwelling to the O’Neill University till 1982 when the university was moved to its current site on 10th Road.

Inspite of the demolition the parking garage future to the setting up will remain intact. In a assembly on Aug. 13, 2021, the IU Board of Trustees reported the building had far too a lot of servicing concerns to justify fixing instead of just demolishing it.

Joe Varga claimed he is incredibly sad to see the building staying torn down, and he will constantly have a specific area in his coronary heart for Poplars.

"I was in my workplace hunting out around downtown when I acquired the call that my initially guide was likely to be released, and a 12 months afterwards, the get in touch with that I had been promoted with tenure," Varga reported.

[Related: Some of campus may look different to future students as IU continues renovations]

Like Varga, numerous men and women have worked in the historic setting up. Stacee Williams worked in an workplace in the creating from February 2019 till October 2021 when her organization moved to a new place.

"As a regulation office, we experienced to determine out how to preserve our functions as non-public as doable for our clients," Williams said. "Numerous departments shared the place, and it took some time to regulate to that. All round, it was a wonderful, snug position to work."

Williams reported whilst most of the team was operating remotely for much of 2020-2021, she labored in her workplace in the making.

"It was uncomplicated to exercise distancing simply because lots of men and women in other departments were performing remotely, and I could near the doorway to my place of work," Williams mentioned. "I felt fortunate to have that place to go to just about every day."

When the Poplars making was a hotel, it even hosted Elvis Presley. Williams claimed one particular night she resolved to glimpse all around his outdated suite.

[Related: Demolition underway on campus neighborhood, home to international graduate students, families]

"I turned on some of Elvis’ audio and looked close to," Williams reported. "Just as I was about to go away, the doorway out to the hall slammed shut. I do not actually feel in ghosts, but that was creepy."

Williams was not the only one who professional something creepy in the making. Veronica Brown mentioned that she thinks the making was haunted.

"The increased the floors obtained, the much more eerie it felt," Brown stated. "The basement was frightening far too. The lights would transform off when I walked down there."

Irrespective of currently being a big portion of Bloomington and IU’s historical past, many folks feel it was time for the developing to go.

"The constructing was previous and in will need of repair," Brown mentioned. "It was dated, and the windows were terrible, so the location was always heat."

In accordance to an write-up in the Herald-Times, the present-day strategy is to transform the area into a environmentally friendly place following the demolition is finish.