Фанеру, как известно, использовали еще древние египтяне и греки, но лишь в 20-м веке потенциал этого материала раскрылся полностью. Фанеру стали применять не только для создания мебели, но и в строительстве зданий, самолетов, катеров. Филипп Старк даже предлагал делать из фанеры автомобили.
Одним из дизайнеров, которых следует благодарить за расширение горизонтов в использовании фанеры, является британец Джеральд Саммерс (1899-1967).
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As you know, plywood and its equivalents were already used by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, but it was not until the 20th century that the potential of plywood was fully explored. As a result, plywood began to be used in the construction of housing, aircraft, vessels. Philippe Starck even came up with a plywood car design.
One of the designers who pushed the limits of plywood is Gerald Summers (1899-1967), a British furniture-maker.
(photos here and below: vam.ac.uk, bukowskis.com, archives of Artek, Makers of Simple Furniture, peterpetrou.com, r-and-company.com)
Одним из дизайнеров, которых следует благодарить за расширение горизонтов в использовании фанеры, является британец Джеральд Саммерс (1899-1967).
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As you know, plywood and its equivalents were already used by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, but it was not until the 20th century that the potential of plywood was fully explored. As a result, plywood began to be used in the construction of housing, aircraft, vessels. Philippe Starck even came up with a plywood car design.
One of the designers who pushed the limits of plywood is Gerald Summers (1899-1967), a British furniture-maker.
(photos here and below: vam.ac.uk, bukowskis.com, archives of Artek, Makers of Simple Furniture, peterpetrou.com, r-and-company.com)
October 6, 2022
В 1929 г. он основал компанию «Makers of Simple Furniture», которая специализировалась, как следует из названия, на производстве простой и функциональной мебели, преимущественно из фанеры. В 1940 г. компания обанкротилась в связи с дефицитом фанеры, вызванным Второй мировой войной. Однако за десять лет существования компании Саммерс спроектировал более сотни предметов мебели, самым главным из которых стало кресло, выпущенное в 1934 г. и изготовлявшееся из одного листа фанеры.
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In 1929, Summers founded his own company, Makers of Simple Furniture, that produced simple and highly functional furniture made mostly out of plywood. In 1940, the company went bankrupt because of a shortage of plywood caused by WWII. However, in the ten years of his firm’s existence, Summers designed over a hundred of furniture pieces, including his Bent Plywood Chair released in 1934. Made from a single sheet of plywood, this chair came to be Summers’ crowning achievement.
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In 1929, Summers founded his own company, Makers of Simple Furniture, that produced simple and highly functional furniture made mostly out of plywood. In 1940, the company went bankrupt because of a shortage of plywood caused by WWII. However, in the ten years of his firm’s existence, Summers designed over a hundred of furniture pieces, including his Bent Plywood Chair released in 1934. Made from a single sheet of plywood, this chair came to be Summers’ crowning achievement.
October 6, 2022
Вероятно, форма кресла была вдохновлена работами Алвара Аалто, в частности, шезлонгом «Paimio», который наверняка был знаком Саммерсу, поскольку в 1933 г. лондонский магазин «Fortnum & Mason», в котором демонстрировались работы Саммерса, организовал выставку мебели Аалто (фото 3). Кресло Саммерса в чем-то уступало моделям Аалто: его цена была выше, да и задние ножки подламывались под большой нагрузкой. В конечном счете оно не смогло конкурировать со скандинавскими современниками, и тираж ограничился 120 экземплярами.
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This chair was likely inspired by Alvar Aalto’s works, especially the Paimio chair which Summers was probably familiar with – in 1933, Aalto’s furniture was exhibited at the Fortnum & Mason store in London (pic. 3) where Summers’ own designs were displayed. In some respects, Summers’ chair was inferior to Aalto’s pieces: it was priced higher and its back legs snapped under a heavy load. The chair eventually lost the competition to its Scandinavian counterparts and only 120 units were made.
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This chair was likely inspired by Alvar Aalto’s works, especially the Paimio chair which Summers was probably familiar with – in 1933, Aalto’s furniture was exhibited at the Fortnum & Mason store in London (pic. 3) where Summers’ own designs were displayed. In some respects, Summers’ chair was inferior to Aalto’s pieces: it was priced higher and its back legs snapped under a heavy load. The chair eventually lost the competition to its Scandinavian counterparts and only 120 units were made.
October 6, 2022
Позднее кресло стало иконой дизайна и теперь представлено в ключевых музеях мира как образец предмета мебели, изготовленного из одной единицы материала без вспомогательных элементов (которые, к слову, часто использовались Аалто).
«Простым и ясным дизайн является только тогда, когда каждая из частей и деталей целого работает в полную силу ради того, чтобы целое могло использоваться по назначению… Негоден дизайн, который требует дополнительного крепежа исключительно для придания прочности двум частям».
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The chair became an icon of product design and part of permanent collections at major museums as the perfect example of a furniture made from a single piece of industrial material without any auxiliary braces (that were sometimes used by Aalto).
“In pure design we expect each part and member to pull its full weight in making the design suitable for its purpose... if we use a brace only to strengthen two members, the design is bad.”
«Простым и ясным дизайн является только тогда, когда каждая из частей и деталей целого работает в полную силу ради того, чтобы целое могло использоваться по назначению… Негоден дизайн, который требует дополнительного крепежа исключительно для придания прочности двум частям».
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The chair became an icon of product design and part of permanent collections at major museums as the perfect example of a furniture made from a single piece of industrial material without any auxiliary braces (that were sometimes used by Aalto).
“In pure design we expect each part and member to pull its full weight in making the design suitable for its purpose... if we use a brace only to strengthen two members, the design is bad.”
October 6, 2022
В 1938 г. Ле Корбюзье, родившийся 135 лет и один день назад, опубликовал довольно резонансную книгу «Пушки, снаряды? Увольте! Жилища? Пожалуйста», которую проиллюстрировал самостоятельно. В этой книге архитектор, предчувствуя надвигающуюся катастрофу, призывал направить «всю необычайную мощь нашей эпохи» на дело мира, на строительство жилищ. По его мнению, специалистов, занятых подготовкой к войне, можно было бы с таким же успехом использовать в мирных целях.
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In 1938, Le Corbusier, whose 135th birthday was celebrated yesterday, published what is thought to be his most polemic book, “Guns and Ammunition? No, Thanks! Give Us Housing, Please”, illustrated with his own pictures. In this book, the architect, aware of the impending catastrophe, called upon the humanity to harness the incredible power of the new age to the service of peace, the construction of housing. He argued that the professional workforce concerned with preparing for war could just as well be deployed to serve peace.
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In 1938, Le Corbusier, whose 135th birthday was celebrated yesterday, published what is thought to be his most polemic book, “Guns and Ammunition? No, Thanks! Give Us Housing, Please”, illustrated with his own pictures. In this book, the architect, aware of the impending catastrophe, called upon the humanity to harness the incredible power of the new age to the service of peace, the construction of housing. He argued that the professional workforce concerned with preparing for war could just as well be deployed to serve peace.
October 7, 2022
В 1973 г. Иосиф Бродский, оказавшись в Роттердаме среди громад новых корпусов, написал, что Корбюзье потрудился над переменой облика Европы не меньше, чем в свое время они. Назовете их заимствованным словом, не заглядывая в интернет?
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In 1973, Joseph Brodsky found himself surrounded by giant boxes of new housing blocks in Rotterdam and wrote that Corbusier had done to reshape the townscape of Europe as much as the _______ previously had. Can you fill the gap with the borrowed word Brodsky used in his poem (without consulting the web)?
(photos here and above: bukowskis.com)
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In 1973, Joseph Brodsky found himself surrounded by giant boxes of new housing blocks in Rotterdam and wrote that Corbusier had done to reshape the townscape of Europe as much as the _______ previously had. Can you fill the gap with the borrowed word Brodsky used in his poem (without consulting the web)?
(photos here and above: bukowskis.com)
October 7, 2022
В честь прошедшего дня рождения Ле Корбюзье, а также грядущих годовщин двух памятных дат – образования ООН (24 октября 1945 г.) и «вселения» организации в нью-йоркскую штаб-квартиру (10 октября 1952 г., когда состоялась церемония открытия здания Генеральной Ассамблеи) – предлагаем освежить в памяти детали строительства штаб-квартиры ООН, грандиозного архитектурно-политического проекта, повторение которого в нынешних условиях представляется немыслимым.
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To celebrate Le Corbusier’s past birthday as well as upcoming anniversaries of two important dates in the history of the United Nations (October 24th 1945, the day the UN came into being, and October 10th, 1952, the day it moved into its newly inaugurated headquarters in New York), we would like to refresh our memory about a landmark project, both architecturally and politically, the likes of which are unthinkable these days - the designing of the United Nations buildings.
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To celebrate Le Corbusier’s past birthday as well as upcoming anniversaries of two important dates in the history of the United Nations (October 24th 1945, the day the UN came into being, and October 10th, 1952, the day it moved into its newly inaugurated headquarters in New York), we would like to refresh our memory about a landmark project, both architecturally and politically, the likes of which are unthinkable these days - the designing of the United Nations buildings.
October 8, 2022
Работа по проектированию комплекса зданий ООН началась в феврале 1947 г., когда каждому из десяти архитекторов, вошедших в проектную группу, было поручено представить свою собственную концепцию проекта, руководствуясь рядом основополагающих принципов. В группу архитекторов, руководил которой Уоллес К. Гаррисон (США), вошли в том числе Николай Басов (СССР), Эрнст Кормье (Канада), Ле Корбюзье (Франция), Свен Маркелиус (Швеция), Оскар Нимейер (Бразилия), Г. А. Свайё (Австралия) и Лян Сычэн (Китай).
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The design process began in February 1947, when each of the architects on the Board of Design was asked to come up with his own plan for the site that would respect a few basic principles. The team of architects led by Wallace K. Harrison (USA) comprised ten architects from the founding members of the UN, including N.D. Basov (USSR), Ernest Cormier (Canada), Le Corbusier (France), Sven Markelius (Sweden), Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil), G.A. Soilleux (Australia), and Liang Seu-cheng (China).
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The design process began in February 1947, when each of the architects on the Board of Design was asked to come up with his own plan for the site that would respect a few basic principles. The team of architects led by Wallace K. Harrison (USA) comprised ten architects from the founding members of the UN, including N.D. Basov (USSR), Ernest Cormier (Canada), Le Corbusier (France), Sven Markelius (Sweden), Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil), G.A. Soilleux (Australia), and Liang Seu-cheng (China).
October 8, 2022
После длительного обсуждения 50 подготовленных архитекторами концепций Гаррисон решил взять за основу предложения Корбюзье и Нимейера. Для Корбюзье этот проект был особенно важен: за два десятилетия до этого его проект комплекса зданий для штаб-квартиры Лиги Наций в Женеве был отвергнут. Болезненно отреагировав на отказ, Корбюзье бросил все силы на то, чтобы в этот раз победу одержала его концепция.
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50 different designs were submitted for consideration. After a lengthy discussion, Harrison selected the proposals of Corbusier and Niemeyer. This project was exceptionally important for Corbusier: two decades before, his proposal for the League of Nations headquarters in Geneva had been rejected. Frustrated over losing the competition, Corbusier made every effort to ensure this time his plan would win.
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50 different designs were submitted for consideration. After a lengthy discussion, Harrison selected the proposals of Corbusier and Niemeyer. This project was exceptionally important for Corbusier: two decades before, his proposal for the League of Nations headquarters in Geneva had been rejected. Frustrated over losing the competition, Corbusier made every effort to ensure this time his plan would win.
October 8, 2022