Coinciding with Salone del Mobile 2015, Herman Miller and Maharam have partnered with Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings to present Lines, Grid & Blocks, an environmental installation on view at the Herman Miller National Design Center at Corso Garibaldi 70 in Milan’s Brera district. Lines, Grid & Blocks is open to the public from 14-19 April 2015.
For Lines, Grid & Blocks, Stefan Scholten and Carole Baijings employed Blocks and Grid, their new woven textiles created in collaboration with Maharam, to transform select furniture pieces from the Herman Miller Collection, recently introduced to the European market. Applied to the Wireframe Sofa by Industrial Facility’s Sam Hecht and Kim Colin, the Brabo Club Chair by Vincent Van Duysen, the Tuxedo Bench by BassamFellows, and a selection of classic Ward Bennett seating, the textiles' 27.5-foot long repeats allow for unique characteristics of the furniture to emerge with each application. Floor-to-ceiling textile panels offer visitors an opportunity to observe the expansive repeats in unbroken vertical planes. To complete the installation, Scholten & Baijings-designed tabletop items selected from their personal archives complement a range of Herman Miller Collection tables.
Herman Miller and Maharam chose Scholten & Baijings for this public exhibition because of their shared interest in creating work that is, as Herman Miller’s noted former Director of Design George Nelson described in his 1948 “Blueprint for Modern Living”, both “appropriate and beautiful.” Those familiar with the catalog of the Dutch duo will recognize the skill with which they address functional requirements with conceptual rigor and technical proficiency. What distinguishes Scholten and Baijings as designers is how they answer the question of what is beautiful. Few designers working today better understand and more ably harness the effect of color.
All of these elements are present in the Lines, Grid & Blocks installation, which highlights how Scholten & Baijings have solved the challenge inherent in textiles and wall coverings, which are not fully realized until their final application on a piece of furniture or in a room. The designers have accounted for this by creating patterns with expansive repeats that offer a unique result in every application. The subtle coloration of the program is also, unsurprisingly, intentional. “When we design a quilt or pillow we can add spicy hues or even fluorescent colors,” Baijings notes. “But furniture has a long life and upholstery should therefore have a timeless quality.”
With Scholten & Baijings for Maharam, the Herman Miller Collection takes on further dimension, and proposes a new way of living, captured in Lines, Grid & Blocks during Milan Design Week 2015.
About Scholten & Baijings
Stefan Scholten and Carole Baijings established their eponymous studio Scholten & Baijings in Amsterdam in 2000. They have since designed a range of interior products for clients including 1616 / Arita Japan, Established & Sons, Thomas Eyck, HAY, Georg Jensen, Karimoku New Standard, and Pastoe, as well as a concept car for MINI. Their work is characterized by minimal forms, simple geometric patterning, and an acute sense of color. They are now widely regarded as of one of the most exciting, innovative, and dynamic design duos in Europe. The studio’s first monograph, published by Phaidon in February 2015, was written by Louise Schouwenberg, designed by Joost Grootens, and directed by Maharam.
About Maharam
Maharam offers a comprehensive collection of textiles for commercial and residential interiors. Maharam textiles are available to the trade and at select retail locations in North America and Japan; through its Danish partner Kvadrat in Europe; through Kvadrat Maharam in Australia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates; and via a network of distribution throughout the Pacific Rim.
About The Herman Miller Collection
In 1948, George Nelson created the first Herman Miller Collection, with the goal of "a permanent collection designed to meet fully the requirements for modern living.” He understood that the Collection would evolve as human behavior changed and new materials and manufacturing technologies emerged. Today’s modern living embraces the blending of life and work, with greater appreciation for contemporary design and mobile and ubiquitous technologies offering new freedom of choice in where and how people express their lifestyles and pursue their professions. The Herman Miller Collection welcomes and enriches this new era, as Herman Miller endeavors to realize Nelson’s vision for the modern home, office, and public spaces.
About Herman Miller
Herman Miller’s inspiring designs, inventive technologies and strategic services help people do great things and organizations perform at their best. The company’s award-winning products and services generated approximately $1.9 billion in revenue in fiscal 2014. A past recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, Herman Miller designs are found in the permanent collections of museums worldwide. Innovative business practices and a commitment to social responsibility have also helped establish Herman Miller as a recognized global leader. In 2014, Herman Miller was again included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. The company trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.