What are a few of the challenges unique to designing spaces for healthcare?
In healthcare, there are complicated buildings that require a very solution-based outcome—not just for the building, but for the patients and staff. How do you create a building that comforts patients, creates a meaningful work environment for staff and is extremely functional? How do you take something as mundane as an MRI room and create a space that is conducive to keeping patients calm during an otherwise unnerving procedure?
How do you work with a client to help them stay true to their vision?
The design and construction process can take years, so it starts with the design team and owner collaborating to establish the big vision and always looking back at that big idea to make sure they are achieving it. Everyone needs to have buy-in from the beginning to achieve the vision. Read more
George Nelson, designer and Design Director for Herman Miller from 1946 to 1972, has written that “every design in some sense is a social communication.” So what is design saying? Nelson spent a good deal of his life answering that question, along the way skewering those “social communications” that weren’t worth listening to. Read more
For the northern hemisphere, December 22 marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter. Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu
More than 200,000 hand-painted blubs light a stretch of Kobe, Japan, an annual event begun after the devastating 1995 earthquake. Photo: Unknown
The Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count engages birders across North, South, and Central America to gather ornithological data. Photo: Allison Hartzell
The short runway of the local airport requires aircraft to pass less than hundred feet above Maho Beach on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Photo: JAR Photography
Bubbles of methane from decaying carbon sediments collect under the ice of an Alaskan lake. Photo: Josh Haner
The long arcing tail of comet Lovejoy serendipitously captured from the window of the International Space Station just before sunrise. Photo: NASA
Northern Canada is home to an estimated 15,000 of the remaining 20,000 polar bears in the world. Photo: Mathieu Belanger
Green flora creates an eerie turquoise glow that radiates throughout the “subway,” a steep walled canyon located in Zion National Park, Utah. Photo: Stephen Oachs
Wall of Death riders of the 1930s thrilled audiences by racing on steep circular tracks at breakneck speeds. Photo: Unknown
Whitewater forms when the geometry of the riverbed, the shape of the channel, and objects in the channel cause a separation of flow. Photo: Jonas Eriksson
Like chromatography, the separation of complex mixtures, the process employed by artist Shane McAdams coaxes a subtlety from the ink of a ballpoint pen. Photo: Shane McAdams
The components of a pre-fab home, as arranged by designer Jens Risom before construction in 1967. Photo: John G. Zimmerman
Over seven centuries, the hillsides of Yunnan province have been transformed into nearly 31,000 acres of rice terraces. Photo: George Doupas
Centripetal force holds both vehicle and lion at a precarious 70 degrees in this 1920’s motordrome. Photo: Unkown
Bristlecone pines live up to 5,000 years and so dense they are nearly impervious to insects. Photo: Domingo Milella
Cars like this Lakester were typical of the 1950s, when racing benefited from increased knowledge of aerodynamics, weight and drag. Photo: J R Eyerman
Workers assemble high-performance automobiles in the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Center located in Surrey, England. Photo: Nigel Young
1,200 bicycles create a ten-meter high cavern, part of a new exhibition by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Photo: Taipei Fine Arts Museum
This 1.5 millimeter-long relative of the nematode will be traveling to the Martian moon Phobos aboard a Russian spacecraft. Photo: Researchers, Inc.
The circular structure that provides “eye color," the iris is responsible for the amount of light that enters the eye. Photo: Suren Manvelyan
Chilean students take to the streets for a kissing protest in demonstration of education costs. Photo: Ricardo de la Peña
Drawing artists from around the world, the Sarasota Chalk Festival is the only international celebration of 16th century Italian street painting. Photo: Jet Media Works
An Indian soldier lights a candle for Dawali, the annual Hindu festival of lights celebrating the victory of good over evil. Photo: Jayanta Dey
The hawk moth unrolls a long proboscis, much like a body-length straw, to sip nectar from flowers—similar to a hummingbird. Photo: David Clark
A Cambodian man herds ducks in a small village on the outskirts of phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo: Heng Sinith
"See Yourself Sensing," a new book explores the relationship between design, the body, the senses, and technology. Photo: Black Dog Publishing
About 4,000 horses will change hands at the 170th Ballinasloe Horse Fair and Festival, the oldest in Europe. Photo: Kenneth O Halloran
The Trench Bridge, sunk low in the water, finds an interesting way of spanning the moat of an old, Dutch fortress. Photo: RO&AD architects
Thousands of optical fiber strands direct light through concrete making it a translucent material. Photo: litracon.hu
Engineer Thomas Dwyer presents Amanda Boxtel, who is paralyzed, with a new robotic exoskeleton which will enable her to stand and walk again. Photo: Dan Kitwood
Chicago nanny and amateur street photographer Vivan Maier was unknown until almost 100,000 of her photos were discovered by a historian. Photo: Vivan Maier
170,000 pink balls transformed a busy Montreal street in to a pedestrian-only mall celebrating art. Photo: claudecormier.com
It can take up 600 hours and 100,000 Legos for Mike Doyle to create one of these dilapidated Victorian-style homes. Photo: mikedoylesnap.blogspot.com
Nose assemblies for Douglas A-20 attack bombers. Between 1940 and 1945, 6.5 million women joined the workforce. Photo: Douglas Aircraft
A miniature model created by Westinghouse engineers to test ways of protecting power lines from lightening strikes. Photo: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
Air flowing past the tail feathers of the male hummingbird produces the characteristic “hum” of the bird’s courtship ritual. Photo: Doug Tucker
The Mayflower II entering New York harbor after sailing to Providence, Rhode Island in 2002, Photo: B. Anthony Stewart
This kitten glows-in-the-dark as a means of confirming its genetic makeup, helping scientists to better understand HIV. Photo: Mayo Clinic
The Koraija Triplets—Andrew, Joseph, and Robert—have a combined 42 years of service as New Jersey police officers. Photo: Michael Yamashita
The interior of this 1949 “Deluxe” Volkswagen Beetle features such extravagances as a rattan storage shelf, porcelain bud vase, and a clock. Photo: Wright20.com
This satellite view of the Hawaiian Islands shows that most of the vegetation grows on the northeast side facing the trade winds. Photo: Jacques Descloitres
The Globe of the CERN laboratory outside Geneva, where neutrinos were recorded traveling faster than the speed of light. Photo: Anja Niedringhaus
A wooden grasshopper, one of thousands of items collected by designers Charles and Ray Eames during their lives. Photo: Ricardo DeAratanha
Platinum electrodes cover part of the brain in an epilepsy patient, transforming electrical signals into computer commands. Photo: Albany Medical College
Sweltering in 120-degree heat, a tigress seeks relief in a fetid pool of rotting leaves. Photo: Michael Nichols
A weeklong festival in the Nevada desert, 50,000 come to Burning Man to celebrate art and self-expression. Photo: Jim Urquhart
“The smallest thing can be a great subject,” was impetus for the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of modern photojournalism. Photo: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Utilizing a wide variety of knives, artist Mark Evens carves and cuts leather hides to expose varied shades of suede to create his epic pieces. Photo: Mark Evans
Fashion provocateur Alexander McQueen was posthumously crowned a genius by the more than half million who attended his exhibit at the MET in New York. Photo: Solve Sundsbo
This ghostly image is actually a CT scan of a porcelain doll. Close inspection reveals a positionable skeleton and teddy bear clenched in her right arm. Photo: radiologyart.com
Two young girls strike a macabre pose in this 1920’s photograph, inspiration for a 2011 social media trend called “horsemanning.” Photo: Unknown
Muslims gather in Tahrir Square, Cairo to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan. Photo: Khaled Desouki
Steel wool, cotton,ground parsley, and a bit of photographic magic turn this miniature landscape into an ominous disaster. Photo: Matthew Albanese
Young Poles writhe in the mud pits of the 17th annual Woodstock Festival, held every year in Poland. Photo: Peter Bohler
Easily mistaken for a satellite image, this image actually visualizes Twitter and Flickr usage in North America. Photo: Eric Fischer
Mark Badick and Ken Rose work to extinguish burning oil wells during the first gulf war. Photo: Sebastião Salgado
A professional dancer and precise timing create the impression of zero gravity. Photo: Denisa Tarzaka
The series Nails’ Life recreates situations of everyday life, from steamy to mundane, with simple building nails. Photo: Vlad Artazov
“Osseus structure,” a 75-minute exposure created with a ceramic pinhole camera, which focuses light through a small aperture without a lens. Photo: steveirvine.com
Characterized by short bursts of high cardiac output, according to the Cleveland Clinic, only professional football is more physically demanding than ballet. Photo: jskinnerphoto.com
Artist Mike Stimpson recreates ionic photos with Legos. In this case, Jeff widener’s 1989 photo from Tiananmen Square, “The Unknown Rebel.” Photo: mikestimpson.com
Many artists have used pencils, but Dalton Ghetti uses them in an unusual way–he carves miniature sculptures into the graphite. A single piece can take months. Photo: Dalton Ghetti
A self-supporting cocoon created from nearly 117,000 feet of packing tape, visitors are invited to climb inside and explore. Photo: Numen/For Use
“What Came First?” Photo: kylebean.co.uk
Detail of a tapestry circuit designed by Becky Stern using a LilyPad Arduino micro controller board and conductive wire. Photo: sternlab.org
This infographic, entitled Moon Flower, is a display of the 2011 lunar cycles. Created by Dimitre Lima. Photo: dmtr.org
Finding that condos for the living were no longer profitable, a real estate developer turned to the dead and commissioned the Sunset Chapel in Acapulco, Mexico. Photo: bunker Arquitectura
Located 30 meters under the granite rocks of Stockholm, this headquarters for an internet provider were built in a former fallout shelter. Photo: Ake Eson Lindman
In the early 1960s, Lee Friedlander’s photographs of television sets provided witty, ironic commentary on the "plug-in drug." Photo: Lee Friedlander
Much like a curator, Francesco Bertelli selects each component for his bicycles with a designer’s eye for form, color, and texture. Photo: Francesco Bertelli
The space shuttle Endeavour silhouetted against the layers of Earth's atmosphere. Photo: National Geographic
The Prostho Museum Research Center in Japan, constructed of 6,000 cypress rods in an interlocking three-dimensional gridded structure. Photo: Kengu Kuma and Associates
The tip of a spiral shell has broken off and become a grain of sand. The opalescence is the result of being repeatedly tumbled by the action of the surf. Photo:Gary Greenberg
The meaning of Magis—”more than”—captures the Italian company’s approach to design and manufacturing. “We add to Herman Miller because we are complementare, complementary,” explains Alberto Perazza, Co-Managing Director of Magis. “Even a world apart, we do the business of design in similar ways. Both companies have many and continuing collaborations with the greatest world designers.”
Much like Herman Miller, Magis employs innovative processes that maximize performance, while minimizing volume of material, energy use, and environmental impact.
The names of Grcic, Morrison, and Fukasawa join the ranks of Eames, Nelson, and Stumpf, as Herman Miller is now the exclusive distributor of Magis products in the U.S. and Canada.
Dear Ms. DiOrio,
Thank you for your letter of praise for what the office cubicle means to you. I presume you thought your “open letter to people or entities who are unlikely to respond” would be lost in cyberspace. (Another highfalutin word I’m sure you feel is unnecessary.) However, I have been asked to respond on Mr. Miller’s behalf.
While we do appreciate your sentiments, I must, on behalf of everyone at our company, correct some of your more egregious errors (the factual ones, not the errors in thinking). Mr. Miller did begin the company that allowed you and Dilbert to flourish (we receive no proceeds from Mr. Adams), however the inventor of the cubicle was Mr. Robert Propst. And, as with most inventors (think Dr. Frankenstein, for example), he became dismayed at what his creation became (“egg-carton geometry” was one phrase he used to describe the way people applied it). Read more
The lords are leaping and the maids are milking, but who’s been making all these stockings?
For the fifth year, holiday stockings hung along the corridors of the Herman Miller Design Yard and multiplied into the hundreds. And they’re not cookie-cutter stockings either—each are one-of-a-kind and handmade out of our textile leftovers. In fact, every once in a while, passersby try buying one for themselves to hang over their fireplace.
However, these stockings were not for sale, but rather made for a greater cause. In the season of giving, Herman Miller employees volunteered their lunch hours for sewing and decorating a total of 477 stockings. All those carefully crafted stockings were distributed to these handpicked charities: Holland Rescue Mission, Urban Family Ministries, Love INC, and St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. These organizations work directly with the families who took the stockings filled with goodies home for the holidays.
“If we think about architecture as simply beautiful objects,” says Michael Murphy, founding partner of Mass Design Group, “then we fail to talk about the process which creates those objects. It’s labor—the construction of craft—that produces beauty.”
Consider Butaro Hospital in Rwanda, an example of MASS Design’s belief in first-rate healthcare facilities for the third world and investing in the local economy as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty. For Butaro’s wall construction, local Rwandans became the masons: hand-chipping volcanic rock and beautifully shaping each piece so they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Built 100 percent by the community, Butaro’s walls are as much symbolic as they are functional. They testify to a community that labored together, using newly learned skills, to build a hospital for themselves.
Patients benefit from their labors, too, in the design of the hospital. Placing beds in the center, making each bed a window seat creates a positive patient experience. An innovative airflow design minimizes the spread of airborne diseases.
Butaro Hospital is functional, innovative, and beautiful. But, to the community, its best design was the process by which it was created.
Herman Miller is excited about working together with MASS. Learn more here.
For designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, “creativity does not come from a rational point of view but an emotional one. Design is about finding a certain balance or character when you are looking for solutions to problems that are difficult to solve.”
The Bouroullec’s intention when designing the Steelwood furniture group for Magis, was to find an affordable alternative to plastic, “We needed to reduce the complexity of wood assembling, so we kept our design simple,” says Ronan. Something that said, “’I am a well-constructed, beautiful object, one that will last a long time, and will grow old quite nicely with you.’ Not just something people use, but are happy to have around them.”
Their approach to the Osso chair for Mattiazzi, “…was to let the sensuality of the wood express itself,” says Erwan. “The chair invites people to touch or even caress it, as it is extremely sculpted and polished.”
Brothers, the Paris-based Bouroullecs have been partners in design since the 1990s. Together they have collaborated with companies around the world. Their designs are also part of many international museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Design Museum in London, and the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris.
Design is so busy solving problems that we sometimes forget that it’s OK to have fun with it. That certainly isn’t the case with Spun, a design whose sole purpose seems to be bringing smiles to the faces of everyone that sits in it.
Designed by Heatherwick Studio, Spun it looks more like a children’s top than a chair when upright. But lay it on it’s side and Spun becomes a comfortable chair that lets the sitter rock side to side—and best of all—spin around, and around, and around.
Check out the video we made the day Spun arrived at Herman Miller. Enjoy the smiles as people experience it for the first time.
The Butaro Hospital in Rwanda, designed and built by MASS Design Group in partnership with Partners in Health.
People around the world have truly become neighbors in a global hometown, and we at Herman Miller support our neighbors wherever they are–locally, globally, and everywhere in between.
It is in this spirit that Herman Miller Healthcare is honored to partner with MASS Design Group. Started by students from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, MASS has, in a very short time, become a leading organization for pushing the boundaries of design and architecture for the purpose of improving the healthcare and lives of people in the world’s poorest communities.
In places like Rwanda, Haiti and Liberia, MASS applies a human-centered approach to design to create innovative, inexpensive, and effective healthcare facilities. The impact of their work has been recognized at home in the U.S, and MASS is now working with healthcare leaders such as Cincinnati Children’s Hospital on their Cerebral Palsy Clinic.
This partnership is long-term, and we are excited about working with MASS to build a better world around you.
