Contract - March 2010 - (Page 75)

design: retrospective a romp through history, contract style By Jennifer Thiele Busch I n this industry, pictures speak volumes. So when Contractâ€™s editors spent weeks perusing decades of archives to capture the story of our past, we ultimately decided that the richness of our content over 50 yearsâ€™ time is best expressed by a visual history. What follows, then, is a photographic essay that begins in 1961 (the rst issue of the magazine was actually published in November 1960) and traces the development of commercial interior design up through the present (May 2009, to be more precise). Over the years, Contract has covered some the most signi cant and forward-thinking design projects of the times, many of which are depicted here and arranged according to the month and year in which they were published (not necessarily the year in which they were completed). What this visual continuum shows is not only the fascinating evolution of design trends and the in uential design rms that helped establish them, but also the evolving and ever important mission of the magazine to cover commercial design in a broad range of industries and across a wide geographic spectrum. In November 1960, Contract was introduced to the A&D community as, â€œA magazine devoted to the planning, design, logistics, and maintenance of furnishings for commercial and institutional facilities of all types, published every month for rms and individuals who specify, design, buy, or replace contract furnishings.â€ In truth, the magazine became so much more. Under the successive leadership of its longest-serving editors in chief, Len Corlin, Roger Yee, and myself, Contract was transformed into a design publication with a unique business focus: to equate good design with good business. Which is cause and which is effect is hard to say. But according to the Contractian history we have accumulated here, interior designers and architects clearly have played an integral role in the evolution of American business culture as we know it today. www.contractdesign.com contract march 2010 75

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - March 2010

Contract 3/10
Contents
Editor’s Note
Introduction
Resources
Perspectives
Essays from the Past:
The Contract Design Dilemma (May 1962)
Space Planning Symposium (July 1963)
Changes in Workplaces Reflect Changes in Task Structure (June 1970)
Women Need Feminine Desks (June 1970)
Name “Interior Designer” Is a Misnomer Because of Broader Duties (August 1970)
Research Reveals Proper Height, Width, Depth of Furniture, from Office Chairs to Library Tables (September 1970)
Astounding Technology Portends Drastic Office Changes in the ’80s (January 1980)
Is the Office Really Necessary? (January 1989)
If You Cut Your Fee, Do You Bleed? (June 1990)
Design: Retrospective
Essays on the Future:
More Happiness, Less Stuff: By Ray C. Anderson
The Social Aspect of Social Responsibility: By John Cary
Leading in the Global Market: By Ross Donaldson
Technology Trends: By Cathryn Barrett
Inadmissible Evidence: By Michael Berens
Practice
Designers Rate: Eight Designers Pick Their Favorite Three Commercial Interiors Products of the Last 50 Years
Ad Index

Contract - March 2010