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Interior Designer Profile - Alexander GirardOne of the biggest names in mid-century textile design is Herman Miller's Alexander Girard (1907-1993), trained at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London and at the Royal School of Architecture in Rome. Girard, born in New York City, was raised in Italy but returned to the United States to live and work, forming offices in New York, Michigan and New Mexico.
1932 saw the opening of Girard's first architecture and interior design office in New York City, and by 1937 he had moved to Detroit and set up shop there. In 1949 he put together the "For Modern Living" show at the Detroit Institute of Arts, displaying an array of objects from dog leashes and sunglasses to glassware, silver and furniture. Of the exhibit Girard wrote, "Here is a representative selection of articles gathered from all over the world...they all share a common, unconscious pride in developing new values rather than depending only on the thought and effort of the past." In 1956 Girard designed the remarkable interior for La Fonda del Sol restaurant in New York City's Time Life Building. The work, featuring a prominent sun motif and an adobe bar, won a silver medal in 1962 from the Architectural League of New York. In 1965 he redesigned every aesthetic aspect of Braniff Airlines, down to the stationary and sugar packets. In association with this project he developed a small line of furniture, simple shell structures offered with a variety of upholsteries, sold for a short time through Herman Miller. It is Girard's work with Herman Miller, in a number of capacities from 1952, which makes up the main body of his professional life. He was brought to the company by Charles Eames, with whom Girard produced the film "Day of the Dead" in Mexico in 1956. He created a number of textile patterns for them; each made at a high level of industrial quality and durability. His sense of style was shocking and exciting for the time. Recognizing that for most palates "a brilliant pink or magenta carried a connotation of double-barreled horror," Girard continued to introduce these shades triumphantly into his designs. In 1959 he helped give a former music hall and brothel a facelift as their new San Francisco showroom. One of his biggest ventures with Herman Miller was the financially unsuccessful Textiles & Objects store in New York City that opened in 1961. The store sold objects that he brought back in bulk from his travels around the world, as well as products made with his textiles such as pillows and tablecloths, and small furniture by other Herman Miller designers. The short lived store, seen by many as an exhibit rather than an enterprise, provided the experience Girard described as "seeing, touching, and remembering familiar associations and all the other intangible activities of the mind and soul." Start your interior design career today by requesting information from one of our highly respected interior design schools! Find a school near you >> Copyright © 2005 Interior Design Schools All rights reserved. |
