A modest seat designed by Jasper Morrison for the Tate Modern in London, a table lamp designed by Arne Jacobsen for St Catherine's College in Oxford, a table thought up by Constance Guisset for the French Institute in Turkey and ceramic tiles created by Gio Ponti for a hotel in Sorrento: You can now have all of these in your own home, too.
Bathed in light in front of a huge bay window with views of the New York skyline and the East River, the UN's North Delegates Lounge is a cordial space for diplomats, staff and guests. When the international organization decided to renovate it in 2011, the Dutch government offered to fund the redesign, and its foreign affairs ministry called on a team of five designers and architects from the Netherlands. The client wanted to modernize the space while preserving its history, as well as the functionality, calmness and privacy necessary for the delegates' work.
The "dream team" was made up of Hella Jongerius (and industrial designer), Rem Koolhaas (an architect and co-founder of the OMA agency), Irma Boom (a graphic designer), Gabriel Lester (an artist) and Louise Schouwenberg (an artist and art theorist). The space had been used since 1952, when the UN moved to New York. Jongerius teamed up with Swiss furniture company Vitra, with whom she had been collaborating for several years, and suggested a selection of existing furnishings (including her renowned Polder sofa) to fit out the lounge. However, she also designed a series of small, compact armchairs with rounded lines, shaped like welcoming nests.
Here, "the choice of materials is not based solely on aesthetic criteria: Leather coverings protect the armrests from dirt and wear, while the seat's relatively thick upholstery extends all the way to the backrest, providing comfortable lumbar support," explained Vitra. The blue finish, in turn, is in keeping with the emblematic UN color. The manufacturer decided to market the model in a chromatic palette defined by color enthusiast Jongerius. The designer plays with four fabric finishes in blue, red, green, and yellow, which she combines with gray, beige, and black. These shades give the seats very different looks, from springy yellow to stately blue, proving that a piece of furniture's color is as important as its shape.
In the early 1960s, historian Alan Bullock, a prominent figure in the university town of Oxford, wanted to build a new college in this prestigious hub of British education, which hadn't seen a new building in 400 years. He then traveled across Europe and discovered a Danish elementary school designed by Arne Jacobsen. The architect was at the height of his career, having just completed the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. Jacobsen immediately agreed to build the college at the university.
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