Frank Lloyd Wright - Milan Direct

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 - 1969), is one of the pioneering fathers of modern architecture thanks to his philosophy of 'less is more' when it comes to design. Mies belief in minimalism and rationalism resulted in some of the most popular furniture designs to come out of the 20th century such as the Barcelona Chair.

DESIGNS BY LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE

Eero Aarnio

Eero Aarnio (born 1932) is another famous Finnish designer, a pioneer in the use of plastics and new materials. Eero's designs were innovative and groundbreaking, still unique to this day. Utilising plastic and fiberglass, Aarnio created such classics as the Ball Chair and Bubble Chair, with such designs becoming a very important part of popular culture in the 1960s.

DESIGNS BY EERO AARNIO

Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi (1904 - 1988) differs from many of the other famous designers of the 20th century in that instead of coming from an architectural background, Noguchi was in fact a trained sculptor. An American-Japanese designer, Noguchi created many of the iconic furniture designs of the 20th century!

DESIGNS BY ISAMU NOGUCHI

Harry Bertoia

Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) is another of the designers that cut their teeth at the famous Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Italian born, Bertoia emigrated to the United States in 1930 and is best known for his classic design of the Bertoia Wire Chair and Diamond Chair.

DESIGNS BY HARRY BERTOIA

Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier (1887 – 1965), The Swiss born architectect was also a renowned painter, designer and urbanist! Known as one of the most influential and admired architects of his time, thanks to his belief that a 'house is a machine for living in'.

DESIGNS BY LE CORBUSIER

George Nelson

George Nelson (1908–1986), travelled through Europe in the 1930s after completing a degree in architecture at Yale. With the purpose of writing articles for Pencil Points, Nelson had the privilege of interviewing a number of the modernist pioneers and founding fathers of the modernist architecture movement such as Charles Eames and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

DESIGNS BY GEORGE NELSON

Philippe Patrick Starck

Philippe Patrick Starck (born January 18, 1949, Paris) is unique in his philosophy of creating designs that are practical for every day household use and easy to mass market, compared to many of his peers who created provocative and expensive sculptural creations.

DESIGNS BY PHILIPPE PATRICK STARCK

Arne Emil Jacobsen

Danish architect Jacobsen (1902 – 1971) is an exemplar of the 'Danish Modern' style, whose work was inspired by Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe (whom he met at exhibitions in Germany and Paris). From a furniture perspective, Jacobsen is most renowned for his Egg and Swan Chairs which he designed for the Radisson SAS Hotel in Copenhagen.

DESIGNS BY ARNE EMIL JACOBSEN

Kathleen Eileen Moray Gray

Kathleen Eileen Moray Gray (August 9, 1878 – October 31, 1976) was by far the most influential women in her field with her work inspiring both Art Deco and Modernism for years to come.

DESIGNS BY KATHLEEN EILEEN MORAY GRAY

Michele De Lucchi

Michele De Lucchi, born in 1951 studied architecture at the University of Florence (1969-1975) and has gained prominence as being one of the leading figures of Italian avant-garde of the 1970's and 1980's. De Lucchi's most impressive work to date is the Tolomeo Table lamp, which is the most sought after lamp for offices worldwide.

DESIGNS BY MICHELE DE LUCCHI

Charlotte Perriand

Charlotte Perriand (1903 -1999) collaborated with Le Corbusier in a very successful partnership that spanned many years. In 1928, Perriand and Le Corbusier designed their first three chairs together (LC2 Armchair, B301 Reclining Chair and the B306 Chaise Lounge).

DESIGNS BY CHARLOTTE PERRIAND

Bill Stumpf

William Eugene "Bill" Stumpf (1936 - 2006) was the pioneer of modern ergonomic office furniture design, in his role at Herman Miller creating the most popular office chair to date, the Aeron! Stumpf fought against designs that focused on money and not the user, and so went about creating a range of office chairs that had the user solely in mind.

DESIGNS BY BILL STUMPF

Don Chadwick

Don Chadwick (born 1936) is the other man credited with the design of the famous Aeron Office Chair. Born in Las Angeles, Chadwick pioneered the use of cutting edge modern design, molding processes and new age mechanisms. The Aeron Chair was awarded 'Design of the Decade' by Business Week Magazine and the Industrial Designers Society of America in 2000.

DESIGNS BY DON CHADWICK

Alvar Aalto

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (1898 - 1976) often referred to as "the Father of Modernism", was a Finnish designer and architect. Aalto was held in such high esteem in Finland that if he was running late for a local Finnair Flight, the airline would hold the plane and delay take off until he was safely seated on board.

DESIGNS BY ALVAR AALTO

Verner Panton

Verner Panton (1926-1998) was famous for his use of plastics and vibrant colour futuristic designs, and is widely regarded as one of Denmark's most influential furniture designers of the 20th century. Panton learnt from the best, as he studied at the architectural practice of Arne Jacobsen, and is most renowned for his 'S chair'.

DESIGNS BY VERNER PANTON

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959) had a hugely successful career, spanning over 70 years that included over 1,000 projects and over 500 completed works. Also authoring 20 books and countless articles during his career and in 1991 was recognised as "the greatest American architect of all time" by the American Institute of Architects.

DESIGNS BY FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Poul Kjaerholm

Kjaerholm (1929 - 1980) differed from many of the other famous 20th century designers in his choice of materials used in design construction. For whilst many of his contemporary designers preferred wood as their favoured material, Kjaerholm mainly chose steel, as Kjaerholm enjoyed the refraction of light on its surface.

DESIGNS BY POUL KJAERHOLM