GRANT & MARY FEATHER STON SCAPE ARMCHAIR 1960
DESIGN & SOCIETY TASK
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Richard Greenacre_3490340 _June 2015
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C O N T E N T S INTRODUCTION 4
GRANT & MARY FEATHERSTON 5
SCAPE ARMCHAIR 6
ORTHOGONAL DRAWING 8
CONCEPT 1 10
CONCEPT 2 12
CONCEPT 3 14
REFLECTION 16
REFERENCES 17
2 2
(Domain n.d.)
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INTRODUCTION Task 3 for Design Pioneers: 20th Century Furniture Design called for a detailed study of an allocated designer and one of their works. My selected designers, Grant and Mary Featherston, were prolific between 1945 and 1976, developing innovative furniture pieces that have come to stand as icons of Australian mid-century modern furniture design (Shaw 2014). Due to the Featherston’s high output during this period, many original furniture pieces still exist and are for sale today. This meant that there were several options available to be accessed and inspected at various vintage furniture retail outlets across Melbourne, including Smith Street Bazaar and Modern History in Fitzroy. For this project I selected to study the Scape Armchair. Designed in 1960 the chair is a great example of innovative use of new manufacturing processes of the time, and displays Grant Featherston’s ongoing inspiration found in organic form. An example of this chair was found in excellent condition at Modern History, Fitzroy, and after documenting the work both photographically and through drawing, three design concepts were developed which drew inspiration from the original chair.
(Featherston 1989)
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GRANT & MARY FEATHERSTON (Grant and Mary Featherston n.d.)
Grant Featherston (1922-1995) was an icon of Australian Furniture design. His notable furniture works span the period between 1945 to 1976. Mary Featherston (1943 -) joined his practice in 1965 after their marriage, she would go on to collaborate with Grant on many significant projects such as the Expo ’67 Talking chair (Whitehouse 2014). The couple united through a passion for design but also through shared ideals that furniture should ‘enrich people’s everyday lives.’ The Featherstons’ was ultimately concerned with the design of functional furniture pieces for efficient manufacture and production (Shaw 2014). Born in 1922, Grant Featherston’s youth was spent in the industrial port of Geelong, Victoria. These were formative years, with Geelong undergoing significant advances in the sophistication of its manufacturing industries. He was for the most part self-taught, and worked breifly in the design and production of glass panels and lighting before enlisting and serving in the Army during the Second World War (Lane 1988). Possibly his most famous work is the Contour furniture range, which at its peak consisted of 25 individual pieces. Some of this range is still manufactured today under licence by Gordon Mather Industries, Victoria (Shaw 2014). Mary Featherston studied Interior Design at RMIT in 1965, and briefly worked for a Melbourne architecture firm before forming a partnership with Grant Featherston in 1965. She collaborated with Grant on a number of furniture project including the 1969 design of the Stem chair and the 1974 design, the Numero IV Lounge (Shaw 2014). From the mid 1970s until the present day, Mary Featherston has worked in the field of exhibition and educational environment design with a focus on the specific needs of children (Whitehouse 2014). Until his death in 1995, Grant Featherston also assisted in this work, and together they collaborated on projects such as the Children’s Museum at the Museum of Victoria (19841988) (Lane 1988). In recent decades Mary Featherston has amassed a significant body of work designing children-centred interiors and furniture systems for schools, which have become prominent models for researchers in education and architects alike (Whitehouse 2014). 5
SCAPE ARMCHAIR 1960 M A T E R I A L S : Steel, Plywood, Sarmprene Foam, Upholstery Fabric Between 1957 and 1970 Grant Featherston was appointed as Consultant Designer for the metal furniture manufacturer Aristoc Industries. His time with the company marked a period of substantial success for the manufacturer, being the recipient of numerous ‘Good Design’ awards from the Industrial Design Council of Australia (Lane 1988). Consultancy with Aristoc Industries also facilitated Grant in his personal design work through being exposed to the sophisticated technology and machinery afforded by large manufactures, and the challenges of collaborating with engineers (Shaw 2014). The Scape armchair was designed in 1960 and was manufactured by Aristoc Industries in Glen Waverly, Melbourne. The armchair is sculptural in form and designed to be of visual interests when viewed from all angles. The chair consists of two upholstered curved plywood shells mounted on a tapered steel tube frame, which was developed using new manufacturing techniques made available by Aristoc Industries. The frame employs the strength of steel in producing a chair with minimal structural bracing, resulting in visual lightness while being structurally strong (Lane 1988). Featherston’s use of organic form is evident in the curved plywood seat and backrest. These pieces bring to mind the form of petals and shells, and serve to nestle and enclose the body. The steel frame also makes use of organic curves, specifically where the steel fame attaches to the backrest (Whitehouse 2014).
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(Own Image.)
(Own Image.)
(Own Image.)
(Own Image.)
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ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWING 750mm
750
750mm
750
TOP VIEW 750mm
387mm
655mm
900mm
525mm
262mm 485mm
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FRONT VIEW
PERSPECTIVE
165ยบ 120ยบ
383mm
684mm
900mm
mm 3 2 1
750mm
473mm
SIDE VIEW
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CONCEPT 1 Concept 1 focuses on material and form. The laminated bent plywood chair consist of 3 unique parts which interlock requiring only 2 screws for fixing. The chair draws inspiration from Featherston’s Scape armchair through its use of bent plywood and the sculptural form of the backrest. Veneered in bleached American Oak, each component is differentiated through stain and colour, highlighting the chairs three individual parts.
D I M E N S I O N S : H 870
W 550 D 685
FRONT VIEW
SIDE VIEW
Three unique parts interlock and a 10
Laminated Plywood Chair in bleached and stained American Oak veneer.
are fastened with 2 screws. 11
CONCEPT 2
FRONT VIEW
SIDE VIEW
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Concept 2 utilises the organic detail apparent in the tapered steel legs of the Scape armchair. Interpreting the form and shape, this detail has been developed into the supporting arms of a glass-top coffee table. Made from American Black Walnut, the sculptural arms support a tempered glass top. Slung vegetable-tanned leather acts as a shelf on which to store magazines etc while the whole structure is supported by thin, tapered steel legs.
D I M E N S I O N S : L 1200
W 650 H 400
(Own Image.)
PERSPECTIVE
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CONCEPT 3
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Concept 3 is inspired by the organic form of the Scape armchair seat and backrest. I was interested in how these ‘shell’ or ‘petal’ shapes might be used in multiples for a lighting design. Each unit is spun out of aluminium and then cut to remove the side of the form. The brushed finish is then anodized in ‘Champagne’. I was interested in utilising a different production process I have not explored before.
D I M E N S I O N S : H 400
W 200 D 200
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REFLECTION Design Pioneers has been an opportunity to delve deeper into the ideologies and
inspirations behind some of the most iconic designers and furniture pieces of the 20th Century. Often we come across information regarding specific furniture pieces and have a general concept of the style and era to which they belong, however, being able to focus a study across several projects has allowed for a greater depth of understanding of not only the designer and their work, but of the context and genre to which they relate. I had a good general understanding of the work of Grant and Mary Featherston, partly due to the recent Mid-Century Modern exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, however it was interesting to discover that the couple only met and began to work together in 1965, 20yrs after Grant had began to pursue a career in furniture design. I found this slightly difficult to navigate when writing my essay for Task 2 as I felt that I was not spending enough time discussing Mary’s work, however I realised this was ultimately unavoidable due to Grant’s extensive body of work before the couple met. The result of these projects has led to a interest in Mary’s personal work in educational environment design and her work for the Museum of Victoria. The process of designing using Grant and Mary’s work as inspiration has been an interesting one. Being able to come into physical contact and have tactile experience with some of their works has definitely aided me in this process. I saw the real challenge as being able to interpret their designs in terms of form and materials, and hopefully bring a contemporary take to their distinctive style.
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REFERENCES Domain n.d., Grant Featherston’s Scape Armchair, Domain, photograph, viewed 5 June 2015, <http://www.domain.com. au/blog/understanding-mid-century-modern-design/>. Featherston, G 1968, ‘Product Design’, in Bogle, M (ed), Designing Australia: Readings in the History of Design, Pluto Press Australia, Annandale, NSW, pp. 92-99. Featherston, M 2014, ‘The Designer’, in Grant, K (ed), Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, pp. 144-145. Featherston, G 1989, Sheet of Studies (c. 1950), National Gallery of Victoria, photograph, viewed 9 June 2015, <https:// www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/28065/>.
Grant and Mary Featherston n.d., Australian Modern Chairs by Grant and Mary Featherston, Archer, photograph, viewed 9 May 2015, <http://www.archermodern.com/-archer/2014/1/18/introducing-grant-featherston>.
Grant, K 2014, ‘Strange Shapes and all: Modern furniture in Australia 1945-1975’, in Grant, K (ed), Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, pp. 2-24. Lane, T 1988, Featherston Chairs: National Gallery of Victoria, exhibition catalogue, 30 March - 7 August 1988, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Miller, J 2009, Miller’s 20th Century Design : The Definitive Illustrated Sourcebook, 1st edn, Miller’s: Mitchell Beazley: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, Great Britain. National Gallery of Victoria 2014b, Mid Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design - Exhibition Wall Texts, State Government Victoria, viewed 1 May 2015, < http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/NGVA_MCF_LabelBook.pdf >. Shaw, S 2014, ‘The Conservator’, in Grant, K (ed), Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, pp. 120-123. Sparke, P 2004, An Introduction to Design and Culture (1900 to the Present), 2nd edn, Routledge, London. Whitehouse, D 2014, ‘Design for Life: Grant and Mary Featherston’, in Grant, K (ed), Mid-Century Modern: Australian Furniture Design, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, pp. 44-52.
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