I've been involved in design/build since 1976 when there was an article written in The New York Times about my firm. The company was called PLATEAUX and the article was about taking out the Chippendale and replacing it with a spare monochromatic palette. I remember being very excited that a major periodical would write about a small progressive company. It also allowed me to think that anything was possible.
Much has happened since I began working in this endeavor. Architectural design has gone through many incarnations. Much has been written about it. There are magazines devoted to almost every aspect, from the smallest detail to the largest building constructed. And, it seems, it's not enough. The field, in fact, is so large and complex that any one book can only cover limited phases of the total. So, where do you start. You start at the basics.
Almost no one regards natural surroundings as ugly or unappealling, but when it comes to man made objects we are less certain of our own reactions. We call these human products ugly or badly designed. We recognize that ugly design is not "right" in the way the natural environment is. Or, we call these products well designed, something that fits into the natural world without spoiling it.
Good design refers to qualities that can be recognized in an object whether it is in style or out. We recognize that good design transcends time.
Designers invent the way things are done. To copy or repeat the way in which objects are made involves no design at all.
The architectural inspired lighting and furniture concepts have evolved from 30 years as a designer/builder. It was always my desire to create a pleasant environment for clients as well as architects and interior designers/decorators who required my services. Over the years I've learned there are no boundaries in ones imagination for the man made environment. When you are concerned with the aesthetic, functional and psychological questions, what matters is, was it done well. This is for you to judge if you are the recipient.
"When a man makes something, even though he may have only the most practical purposes in mind, he has created something visible. The viewer who sees the thing that has been made, applies the same skills of sight and perception that he would apply to the natural world, but he cannot escape knowing that the form that he sees has been shaped by the thinking of the man who made it".
