Black Design History: 5 People, Places & Spaces To Know

Cheryl Durst Spotlights The Legacy Of Black Creatives

1. Harold Curtis Brown

Anyone who frequented Harlem nightclubs during the Harlem Renaissance likely enjoyed a space designed by Harold Curtis Brown. A Black, gay interior designer—a rarity for his time—Curtis shaped the interiors of then-hotspots like the Cotton Club, Tilly’s, and the Saratoga Club. Outside of Harlem, his other major projects included designing the interiors of Manhattan’s Hotel Navarro, which became an early Ritz-Carlton hotel. However, there’s much that remains unknown about Brown’s work and life—including what happened to him after 1938, when he seems to have disappeared. One architectural historian, Michael Henry Adams, believes that Brown might’ve chosen to pass as white and work under a different name to circumvent the rampant racial discrimination of the era.

2. Here: Where the Black Designers Are

Throughout her career, graphic designer, educator, and activist Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller constantly pondered one question: Where are the Black designers? In her memoir, Here: Where the Black Designers Are, she posits an answer. It’s a crisp, compellingly written look at her life in design, from her days as student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Maryland Institute College of Art, and Pratt Institute, to her work with clients like NASA, BET, and Time, Inc. In telling her story, she also recounts her efforts, and those of others, to name Black designers, because naming is powerful—it makes the invisible, visible.

“We all have a purpose in life,” Holmes-Miller writes in her book’s introduction. Her purpose? “I am called to tell you the story of the very first Black graphic designer and to make sure that the Black designer of today never goes missing again. … I lift our story to the light so that we all can see us clearly.”

3. Azurest South, Amaza Lee Meredith’s Home

Amaza Lee Meredith was, simply put, amazing. She refused to be constrained by societal restrictions and prejudices. Born in Virginia in 1895, she became one of the country’s first Black female architects. A graduate of Virginia State University and Columbia University, Meredith chaired the art department at Virginia State and designed homes for family and friends. She designed her own home, Azurest South, in the International Style and openly lived there with her same-sex romantic partner, Dr. Edna Meade Colson. The house, which recently received grant funding for preservation efforts, is located on the Virginia State campus. Elsewhere on the East Coast, in Sag Harbor, New York, there’s more evidence of Meredith’s legacy: Azurest North, a community of summer cottages she and her sister created.

4. Norma Merrick Sklarek

The first Black woman to earn a degree in architecture from Columbia University? Norma Merrick Sklarek. The first to become a licensed architect in New York? Sklarek. In California? Again, Sklarek. (Those aren’t her only firsts; read the full story to find out more.) After college, Sklarek was rejected by 19 potential employers. That didn’t stop her. She went on to work at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill in New York, then relocated out West for a position at Gruen Associates in Los Angeles. She ultimately rose to the role of director of architecture, and worked on projects including the Pacific Design Center, San Bernardino City Hall, and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

“I think it’s absolutely impossible to understand the level of prejudice and difficulty that she faced,” Kate Diamond, who at one point co-founded an architecture firm with Sklarek, told Columbia magazine. “I’m sure she felt every one of those little cuts. But Norma … had a backbone of stainless steel. And regardless of what was happening, she would work her way through to the answer she needed to get to.”

5. The Harlem StoryMap

Nothing beats a good map, especially an interactive and enlightening one. The Harlem StoryMap, created in 2021 by Thandi Nyambose, a then-student at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, is a digital guide to Black-designed spaces across Harlem. With archival materials, census maps, and news clippings, the StoryMap is a richly textured, deeply informative look at Black Harlem. The map’s landmarks include St. Philip’s Church, designed in the early 1900s by Vertner Woodson Tandy, New York’s first Black licensed architect, and the 1937 Harlem River Houses, the city’s first federally subsidized public housing development. Designed by Black architect John Louis Wilson, the Harlem River Houses were lauded by the New York Times as a “remarkably gentle oasis.”

Journey Through A Memorable Maze Of Visionary Design

Environmentalism, inclusivity, saturated color, sport—all and more made for exceptional art and design in 2024.

Explore Breathtaking Designs From Top Projects

Commissioned for last February’s Desert X AlUla, an outdoor biennial in the Saudi Arabian desert, To Breathe, South Korean artist Kimsooja’s site-responsive spiral, was made of 42 9-foot-tall glass panels coated in iridescent, diffraction-grating film.

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In the family room of a 5,600-square-foot duplex penthouse in New York by NICOLEHOLLIS, a grid of Donald Judd woodcuts oversees a Groundpiece sectional by Antonio Citterio, coffee and side tables by Ini Archibong and Gary Magakis, and a custom oak media console. Read more about this New York penthouse here.

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2030, a nude Venus lost in a sea of detritus, is part of “To Step Beyond” at Lévy Gorvy Dayan gallery in New York, a survey of 91-year-old artist Michelangelo Pistoletto’s work that includes six decades of sculptures, silkscreens, and paintings, on view through March 29, 2025.

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Last year, for the 100th anniversary of Cini Boeri’s birth, product designer Elena Salmistaro created a 12½-inch-tall enameled statuette of the late architect that combines her physical attributes with signature patterns from her textile designs, part of the Most Illustrious series for Bosa that already includes figurines of other Italian icons: Michele De Lucchi, Achille Castiglioni, Riccardo Dalisi, and Alessandro Mendini. Read more about these stauettes here.

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In the restrooms at Escá Cueva, a restaurant in Cairo designed by Badie Architects, colored LEDs highlight the organic forms made from a steel infrastructure covered in a cement-polymer mix that’s found throughout. Discover more about this fiery restaurant here.

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In Tokyo, at the entrance to the Ginza flagship store of Ya-Man, design studio I IN lined a column with LEDs that mirror the ones found in the Japanese beauty brand’s red light–therapy products.

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Sustainability drove Milan firm Peter Pichler Architecture’s design of the Bologna, Italy, headquarters for Bonfiglioli, a manufacturer of gearmotors, drive systems, and industrial inverters, including the facade clad in pleated aluminum mesh that filters direct sun and the sloping roof that incorporates six south-facing terraces and results in an enlarged north facade for increased indirect daylight to the 67,000-square-foot interiors.

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Sticks of hand-painted driftwood suspended in an aluminum mesh explored the tension between natural and man-made in Roots, part of “The New Transcendence,” a group show including Andrea Branzi at Friedman Benda gallery in New York last January.

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Andrea Pisano, the 14th-century sculptor and architect, was the master builder of the Duomo di Orvieto, its banded white travertine and black basalt facade similar to other Gothic cathedrals built in central Italy around that time (and the inspiration for the interiors of the nearby Palazzo Petrvs, a boutique hotel by Giuliano Andrea dell’Uva Architetti which was featured in our March 2024 issue).

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The 1938 photograph of Austrian-American architect Frederick John Kiesler’s Mobile Home Library Hinge appeared in “Frederick Kiesler: Vision Machines” at the Jewish Museum in New York last April.

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Referencing a Marcel Duchamp self-portrait, the graphic designer Milton Glaser’s poster accompanied the 1966 release of “Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits” and was featured in “Art of Noise” at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art last summer.

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Known for her “art pools,” which feature vibrant murals painted onto a pool’s bottom, Alex Proba elevates her signature style with a puzzlelike arrangement of hand-glazed ceramic tiles from Cerámica Suro in Guadalajara, Mexico, into an abstraction of coral reefs for a private home in Miami.

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Occupying the four exterior Jewel Box vitrines earlier this winter at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, was “Multifaceted,”  Italian illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli’s site-specific vinyl artworks, all 8½ by 10 feet. Dive into these vinyl artworks here.

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Local artists Adriana Meunié and Jaume Roig crafted a mural of natural materials for the pine-beamed yoga studio at Son Blanc Farmhouse Menorca, a boutique hotel in Spain that had been a dormant, late 1800’s Spanish home and barn until a recent renovation by Atelier du Pont. Read more about the Menorca renovation here.

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The nearly 6-foot-tall Warren by Porky Hefer appeared last summer in “no bats, no chocolate” at Galerie56 in New York, it and the solo show’s eight other sculptures of animals, all representative of “weird talents” that benefit the planet, handmade of locally sourced materials in collaboration with fellow South African studios Ronel Jordaan, Wellington Moyo, and Leather Walls. Play around with these sustainable sculptures here.

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A custom banquette with artfully clashing upholstery patterns distinguishes the lobby of the Wayback, a 134-key boutique hotel, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, by Nashville architecture and design firm Dryden Studio. Get retro with the Wayback hotel here.

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Multidisciplinary artist Orsi Orban and Christopher Duffy collaborated on Spirits, a limited-edition sculpture series inspired by bone formations, coral, and animal scales that combines Orban’s surface-design creation methods with Duffy’s work with CAD and AI, with the former ultimately constructing the works from hundreds of pieces of laser-cut cherry laminate paired with polyester foil. Catch this biomorphic sculpture series here.

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The 1971 image by Ghanaian photographer James Barnor of a shop assistant posing in front of the United Trading Company headquarters in Accra was included in “Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence” at London’s V&A South Kensington last summer.

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For accounting-software company Tipalti, abacus-inspired installations by M Moser Associates, including these 1-foot-tall ceramic beads by TAV Ceramics, in corporate branding colors, inform its 24,000-square-foot office in Vancouver, Canada. Tour around this Vancouver office here.

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Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum feted its 30th anniversary last year with “KAWS + Warhol,” which featured the painted bronze, nearly 6-foot-tall GONE from 2018 by Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS.

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Last July at Tokyo’s Roppongi Museum, “Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss” was a 9,150-square-foot exhibition by OMA that surveyed the 77-year history of the House of Dior scent, the dominant color derived from the pinks found in iterations of the perfume’s tinted formula and bottle designs. Capture the essence of Miss Dior here.

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Also last July, Unreal, the Argentine artist Andrés Reisinger’s three-day pop-up installation in New York, cloaked a NoLIta storefront in 850 yards of polyester to celebrate the launch of a liquid blush product of the same name by cosmetics brand Hourglass. Explore this dreamy installation in New York here.

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29-year-old Lithuanian Barbora Žilinskaite’s anthropomorphic, 10-piece solo exhibition “Chairs Don’t Cry” at Friedman Benda Los Angeles last winter included the 6-foot-long Sunbather bench and 3-foot-tall Mr. Judgy mirror, both in pigmented reclaimed sawdust.

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Whimsical apertures, butter-yellow tile, and graphic accents welcome spontaneity at Lanwuu Imagine, a studio designed by Aurora Design in Kunming, China, that specializes in wedding and portrait photography through a surrealistic lens. Discover this photo studio capturing the imagination.

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Occupying the 9,000-square-foot mezzanine level at The National Gallery Prague is ATLAS—the acronym for Creative Studio and Laboratory of Associative Dreaming in Czech—a public art gallery by No Architects absconding with traditional museum bounds in favor of a reductive Mondrian palette, yoga platforms, movable seating, and touchable art. Pique curiosity at ATLAS inside the National Gallery Prague.

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Toasting its 20th anniversary, Toronto’s famed Lee Restaurant redesigned by Bent Gable Design and Future Studio relocated to the city’s 1932 art deco Waterworks building, where its 6,000 square feet feature walnut walls bisected by velvet patchwork banners in retro hues.

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Paying homage to Yeun Long, Hong Kong’s agricultural roots, Shun Fook Barn by ARK reimagines the humble farmhouse as a 30,000-square-foot shopping mall with indoor/outdoor appeal, from living green walls, earthy hues, and a massive woodlike tree sculpture in the atrium.

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Celebrating the Carpathian landscape, Hay Boutique and Spa by Edem Family in Polyanytsya, Ukraine, and designed by YOD Group, has dried grapevines appointed to thermos-spruce paneled walls in its Vinotheque restaurant, where local industrial designer Andrey Galushka’s pressed-hay pendant fixtures illuminate rustic tables and Emilio Nanni’s Croissant chairs. Find solace in this tranquil mountain escape.

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The first solo show since Fernando Campana’s untimely passing in 2022, and the first with older brother Humberto as sole principal designer, “On the Road,” by Estúdio Campana last spring at Friedman Benda in New York, included their 2017 cast-bronze Branches sofa.

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Celebrating late Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, Brazilian studio Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos curated “Chromatic Inductions” last fall at Simões de Assis gallery in São Paulo, where large PVC sheets hung from the ceiling creating an interactive mazelike experience.

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The 47th iteration of architect Emmanuelle Moreaux’s 100 Colors series, Timeline is also her first permanent one in Paris, occupying the eight-story atrium of Le Lumière office complex, with 3,200 steel, color-graded numbers suspended in rows, each denoting a year. Unlock the magic of numbers in this captivating installation.

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Debuted during Art Basel Miami Beach, the city’s first-ever floating and transportable padel ball court by Yntegra Group, moored just off Fisher Island in Biscayne Bay, was constructed of recycled steel sourced from old shipyard materials, surrounded by glass walls, and clocked in at 84 tons.

Interior Design Announces 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees

Drumroll, please! Interior Design announced 2022 Hall of Fame honorees today, recognizing five illustrious designers and creatives who continue to innovate the field. After a two-year pause during the pandemic, the magazine’s prestigious architecture and design awards gala returns to its in-person format December 7 at The Glasshouse in Manhattan.

This year’s inductees, selected by editor in chief Cindy Allen as well as a nominating committee of previous Hall of Fame members, include Yves Béhar, founder and chief designer of fuseproject, Mavis Wiggins, managing executive, studio creative director of TPG Architecture, Will Meyer and Gray Davis, founders of Meyer Davis, and a special award to artist and activist, Claudy Jongstra.

“Being back live and in person after a two-year Covid hiatus adds so much meaning to the evening, as this community really loves being together and being inspired by one another,” said Allen. “And these extraordinary honorees represent the expansiveness of our industry, including residential, office, hospitality, industrial design, product, and art. The full spectrum of design—that solves problems, touches humanity, and changes the world.”

Learn more about Interior Design‘s 2022 Hall of Famers.

Yves Béhar 

Mavis Wiggins

Will Meyer and Gray Davis

Claudy Jongstra

Honor Friends and Colleagues

To celebrate Interior Design‘s 2022 Hall of Fame honorees, design luminaries near and far will gather for a black-tie celebration December 7 complete with documentaries on the work and legacy of each inductee. The films also will be available later on DesignTV by SANDOW.

A portion of proceeds from Interior Design‘s Hall of Fame event will benefit Americares and The Thorn Tree Project. Tables and tickets can be purchased through Laury Kissane at (773) 791-1976 or lkissane@sandowdesign.com.

Interior Design’s 17th annual Best of Year Awards will take place the following evening, December 8, at PENN 1.

Interior Design’s Best of Year 2022 Submission Deadline Now September 21

Summer is in full swing, but it’s never too early to start thinking about Interior Design‘s Best of Year Awards! The 17th annual ceremony, which spotlights the most innovative and noteworthy design achievements—and creatives—around the globe will be hosted by editor in chief Cindy Allen and live-streamed as part of DesignTV by SANDOW later this year. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to submit now through September 21!

Read more: 5 Designers and Manufacturers Reveal How Winning a Best of Year Award Transformed Their Practice

Check out our submission guidelines and eligibility below.

Products: All must have been introduced between September 2021 and September 2022. Products/collections may be entered into one or more categories. Products may be entered into one or more categories.

Projects: All must have been completed between September 2021 and September 2022 (with the exception of the “on the boards” category, reserved for in-progress projects). Projects may be entered into one or more categories.

Student products: Open to products launched or exhibited, either in conjunction with a class or a (virtual) show. Submitters must be graduate or undergraduate students enrolled in accredited design programs globally. Student submissions have a dedicated submission form here.

Eligible product designs include: accessories, architectural products, fabric, furniture, kitchen and bath, lighting, and wall covering. Products and projects that have been previously awarded or published are not excluded from entry.

We look forward to seeing your exciting submissions for standout products, projects, people, and students in the A&D community!

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

Rebecca Moses Joins Cindy Allen for Interior Design’s Inaugural ArtbyDesign Talk at PENN1

Marking the debut of Interior Design’s new office locale at PENN1 in Manhattan, editor in chief Cindy Allen hosted an ArtbyDesign talk with artist Rebecca Moses June 23—the first of more to come—drawing a crowd to the building lobby. The event, held in partnership with Garden on the Wall, offered emerging designers an opportunity to connect with each other and learn how one of the industry’s beloved creatives built, and pivoted, her career over the years. “She changes people’s lives,” Allen said of Moses, laying the groundwork for the conversation to come.

Kicking off the discussion, Moses shared insights into her the beginnings of her career, touching on her first pull toward design at the age of 14. “I always wanted to be a fashion designer,” she said. Mission accomplished. Graduating from FIT, she went on to work with Pierre Cardin.

As images of her early designs flashed across the overhead screens, Moses stressed the importance of taking risks, referencing her move from New York to Paris where she made a name for herself by creating her own collection. “When you live in fear you achieve nothing, have to confront fear and step over it,” she said. “What’s the worst that can happen? You fail. But failure leads to discovery.” This mindset powered her career forward.

In Europe, Moses found success—and love. “I fell in love with an Italian man,” she said, noting that this led to yet another new chapter, this time in Italy. As the conversation continued, Moses turned her polished Italian accent on and off as if on cue, providing a theatrical telling of her past as she talked about the evolution of fashion, design, and technology.

Despite the chic storefronts that displayed her pieces over the years, Moses retains a fascination for the behind-the-scenes work done in factories. “I love to understand how something is made, it gives food for more creative energy. That’s what Italy taught me,” she said, noting that there are endless opportunities for growth—even in the darkest of times. After the death of her husband, Giacomo Festa Bianchet, Moses shifted her focus from fashion to art, creating cheeky illustrations for esteemed magazines. Fast forward to the start of the Covid pandemic. As the world shut down, she helped people create community—and feel seen—by connecting with them on social media and offering a portrait drawing in return for a bit of insight into their lives at home. The resulting project, “The Stay Home Sisters,” honors the lives and work of countless women who worked as nurses during the height of the pandemic.

As for the young designers in the room, Moses offered a bit of advice: “You all have a lot of mystery inside you,” she said. In other words, use it!

Designers and Manufacturers Share Insights on How the Built Environment Can Transform Health

Imagine positively impacting the health of hundreds of people at once without a medical degree. Impossible? Not for the A&D community asserted attendees at Interior Design‘s Health and Wellness roundtable at theMART in Chicago June 14.

Hosted by SANDOW Design Group EVP and design futurist, AJ Paron, and Interior Design managing director, Helene Oberman, a group of designers and manufacturers came together during NeoCon to discuss ways the built environment can address pressing challenges, including equity, accessibility, and inclusivity. “Even before the pandemic, health and wellness was something we wanted to tackle and this is what we need to keep talking about,” said Paron, kicking off the discussion.

The group agreed that behavioral health is becoming a focus in conversations internally and with clients, especially when it comes to adding restorative areas. These range from sensory rooms, which enable the user to withdraw from external stimuli, such as the roar of a crowd in a sports stadium, to submersion rooms that give the user agency to transform the space—outfitted with floor-to-ceiling video screens on three walls—into a calm oasis of their choice, such as a beach or forest. “We need to bring these things to the table and say: ‘hey, have you thought about this?'” said one designer. “These should not be an exclusive experience; these solutions should be baked in throughout our projects,” added another.

And if clients question the impact of such solutions, it all comes back to science. “You absolutely can improve health and wellbeing through the built environment,” said one attendee. “There’s new information coming out of the neuroscience community showing we have unconscious biological responses to the built environment… Design offers people an opportunity to change their brain waves, similar to meditation.” The group discussed ways to tap into the parasympathetic—rest and digest—nervous system through use of soothing patterns, such as the triangular shape of three dots, which mirrors our first experience of facial recognition as infants. “The geometries we use as designers impact us positively or negatively,” he added.

Armed with this knowledge, the conversation shifted to the link between equity and material health. “We want to look at material health from the full lifecycle of a product,” offered one designer, noting that transparency is essential, as are resources such as the Living Building Challenge Red List and Perkins&Will’s Precautionary List. But regional health also is part of the equation. “As we approach projects, we look at regional health indicators based on where a project is located,” offered another, who noted that the EPA has a tool to assess climate and health in a given area. “Then we begin looking at different design strategies—it’s one way we’re able to talk to clients and make sustainability tangible to them.”

Ultimately, the group agreed education is vital to creating meaningful shifts in terms of sustainability, equity, and inclusivity, all of which impact overall health. “We need to course correct the education system to include new concepts for health and wellbeing—this needs to be part of design discussions early on,” said one attendee. Not to mention fruitful discussions out of the classroom, like this one.

A special thank you to our roundtable partners: Garden on the Wall, Lutron Electronics, Mannington Commercial, and Mecho Shade Systems.

Interior Design Hosts 9th Annual HiP Awards at theMART in Chicago

More than 250 design luminaries gathered at theMART in Chicago Sunday night for Interior Design’s ninth annual HiP Awards ceremony, marking the start of NeoCon. As the night got underway, the well-heeled group of designers, creatives, and manufacturers mingled with cocktails in hand—most after a two-year hiatus—before snagging a seat on the steps at Marshall’s Landing for the ceremony.  

As editor in chief Cindy Allen took to the stage, the crowd offered a communal cheer, setting a celebratory tone for the evening. “Are you happy?” Allen asked, speaking above the hum of applause. “Because I’m so happy to be here!” Then she unveiled one winner after the next.

This year’s Product winners reflect an extensive range of industry talent, from carpeting that draws on hypnotic desert hues to a sleek outdoor shower that fits in just about anywhere, highlighting the importance of sustainability and innovation. As for HiP People winners, Allen offered ceremony attendees a glimpse into the narratives that shaped their distinguished careers—noting that each story is nothing short of impressive. “I’m honored to be recognized for sustainability efforts,” says HiP Rising Star for Sustainability Jane Hallinan, interior design at Perkins Eastman. “Material health is so important and I hope to continue encouraging others to prioritize specifying for the environment.”

Spirits remained high throughout the evening as attendees embraced the opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues, including a few in town from overseas. “It’s so great to be back at NeoCon, there’s a whole new energy,” says HiP Rising Star Madison George, interior designer at Huntsman Architectural Group. “It feels different and really fresh.”

“It’s surreal,” adds HiP Hospitality Leader Dan Mazzarini, principal and creative director of BHDM Design. “NeoCon and these awards feel like the celebration that is our industry—they’re so emblematic.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Take a look at the winner’s gallery and catch a glimpse of event highlights below.  

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The HiP Awards ceremony also was live-streamed on DesignTV by SANDOW. In case you missed it, be sure to check out the replay here.

A special thank you to our sponsors: Andreu World, Arcadia Contract, Encore, Davis Furniture, Formica, Haworth, Innovant, Interface, JANUS et Cie, Keilhauer, Mannington Commercial, Mohawk Group, Shaw Contract, Turf, VS America.

A Sneak Peek at SANDOW Design Group’s NeoCon Lounge and Upcoming DIFFA Pride Auction

SANDOW Design Group is making a scene at NeoCon! As the A&D community readies for the upcoming festivities at theMART in Chicago, we’re putting the finishing touches on DesignScene by Sandow, a must-see gathering space on floor 3 with plenty of room to unwind, talk design, and lean into the action.

Pop in to see Interior Design’s ShowDaily newspaper being produced live (and drop off new product materials!), catch a glimpse of ongoing industry roundtables with design leaders, witness the video team bring DesignTV by SANDOW segments to life in the film studio, or kick back and relax with a complimentary coffee thanks to Miele. A replay of Interior Design’s HiP Awards ceremony also will be featured on various screens throughout, in case you miss the live event Sunday evening.

But that’s not all. Interior Design will be celebrating Pride Month with a colorful—and meaningful—installation created by LightArt and 3form for an auction to benefit the Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS, which kicks off Monday, June 13 and runs through 12pm CT on June 15. Auction items from major brands will be on view in the gallery-like space within DesignScene and bids can be made online. Proceeds will benefit the local Chicago chapter of DIFFA, which grants funds to organizations providing treatment, education, and assistance for people impacted by HIV/AIDS, homelessness, hunger, and mental health issues.

This year, the Sustainability Lab by Metropolis also is back by popular demand showcasing new innovations and conducting free educational programming. Toast with our good friends at Material Bank who will join in the festivities by hosting a Happy Hour Tuesday, June 14 at 4pm CT.

Be seen, and be part of a space that is all about community and celebrating what we do best. Hope to see you at DesignScene by SANDOW!

A big thank you to our partners who provided products throughout DesignScene by SANDOW: Carnegie Fabrics, Davis Furniture, Haworth, Interface, Keilhauer, Mohawk Group, OFS, ReSeat, Shaw Contract, and Uhuru Design.

The 1930s: Celebrating 90 Years of Design

Our profession on parade, as adapted from A Century of Interior Design 1900-2000 by this magazine’s former editor in chief.

The year is 1932. Donald Desk’s Radio City Music Hall opens in New York, and the Cranbrook Academy of Art opens in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, while the American Institute of Interior Decorators holds its first annual conference and launches the Decorator’s Digest. (Five years later, the magazine becomes an independent publication, changing its title to Interior Design.) In 1931, Edward Wormley beings working for Dunbar Furniture- an association that will endure until 1968. With Ludwig Mies van der Rohe as the last director, Germany’s Bauhaus is closed by the Nazis in 1933. That same year, Herman Miller shows its first modern furniture, designed by Gilbert Rohde, at the Century of Progress world’s fair in Chicago. In 1935, the ocean liner Normandie, its interior designed by Jean Dunand and Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, among others, takes it maiden voyage. The following year, an architecture firm called Skidmore, Owings & Merrill hangs out a shingle. Frank Lloyd Wright completes Fallingwater in Bear Run, Pennsylvania, in 1939.

Editor’s note: Explore more coverage of design through the decades here.

Design Highlights

1932 – Alvar Aalto designs the Paimio chair; Marcel Breuer Associates builds a house in Wiesbaden, Germany, as shown in this floor plan; and The Decorator’s Digest debuts.

1935 – Dorothy Draper & Co. redecorates the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, and Gerald Summers comes out with a tea trolly.

1936 – In Racine, Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright completes the Johnson Wax building, home to this desk; in Como, Italy, Guiseppe Terragni designs the Casa del Fascio and its interiors; the Decorator’s Digest features a Hedrich Blessing photography of the stairway at a Frazier & Rafferty residence in Lake Forest, Illinois.

1937 – Nelson and Mary Rockefeller move into their New York apartment, designed by Jean-Michel Frank.

1938 – Hans Knoll strikes a pose.

1939 – Franco Albini designs this desk for himself, two decades before it goes into production for Knoll.

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