Great Seats:
Classic furniture pieces permanent part of Knowlton Hall
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With the opening of Knowlton Hall, Ohio State's Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture is proud to present the Classic Furniture Collection. As a cornerstone of the program and a main component of the new building, the collection infuses the School with superlative examples of technical and aesthetic craftsmanship: and, along with institutions like the Wexner Center for the Arts, establishes Central Ohio as a center of design.
Forty-one pieces are on display throughout the building, from the reception area to the student lounge to the library, where a wide audience of design professionals, alumni, students, faculty and University leadership will be able to admire, learn from and enjoy the collection. Pieces include Isamu Noguchi’s Prismatic Table (1957), Frank Gehry’s Cross Check Chair (1989), Le Corbusier’s Cube Sofa and Chairs (1927) and Ludwig van der Rohe Mies’ Day Bed (1930).
KSA Librarian Jane McMaster reported that since the KSA Library has been open, nearly 20,000 people have visited, many of whom came to see the classic furniture.“The furniture collection is a real draw,” she explains. “Children and adults alike walk around the library to look at the chairs and even try sitting in most of them.” McMaster says guests tend to gravitate to Le Corbusier’s Chaise Lounge (1928) and Harry Bertoia’s Bird High Back Chair (1952) because of their comfort and their interesting shapes.
The majority of the collection was assembled by the interior designers for Knowlton Hall, Suzanne Toney and Amy Dupler, through working with furniture distributors and manufacturers. Donated pieces include Herman Miller and Continental Office Environments donations of two Eames plywood lounge chairs, two Eames soft pad conference chairs and an Eames elliptical coffee table. Knoll Studio donated a Marcel Breuer Wassily chair. The Bird Chair was donated by Brooks Breeden (professor, landscape architecture).
The collection can be viewed in person Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday noon to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday noon to 10:00 p.m. The KSA Digital Library features images of the collection which can be viewed by searching for “Knowlton furniture.”
(read the full release on Knowlton School of Architecture site)
Related links:
Knowlton School of Architecture
College of Engineering
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