Top Ten: Best of the Web This Week

Here’s what we’ve been viewing this week.

1. A quick tour inside the Ray Eames exhibit at the California Museum in Sacramento via Esoteric Survey.

2. Le Prado, a warm, welcoming home near the beaches of Marseilles, France, spotted by Design Milk.

3. More from Marseilles, this time from Contemporist: the simple and elegant Vieux Port Pavilion by Foster + Partners.

4. Co.Design’s peek inside a new book on Irving Harper, who designed Herman Miller’s logo and contributed to the design of George Nelson’s Marshmallow Sofa.

5. A surprising house design by Aires Mateus in Leiria, Portugal, found at I Need a Guide.

6. The Makoko Floating School project by NLÉ architects at designboom.

7. Remodelista’s roundup of “smart and skinny” houses in Japan.

8. Great shots by photographer Alan Wanzenberg at Plastolux. (We’re fans of the nicely lit image of a pair of Eames Walnut Stools.)

9. This chat with David Calvin Laufer, who presents interviews with George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames, and Buckminster Fuller, among others, in his book Dialogues with Creative Legends and Aha Moments in a Designer’s Career (via Peachpit).

10. The renovated LeRoy Neiman Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Be sure to check out its interesting combo of Eames designs and colorful Caper chairs. (Via Retail Design Blog.)

Featured in photo: Eames Molded Plastic Chair; Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair; Nelson X-Leg Table

Six Ways to Irving Harper

Week four of our Why Design series features industrial designer and artist Irving Harper. In addition to creating the logo for Herman Miller, Harper helped produce some of the masterpieces of the mid-century design pantheon, including the Nelson Marshmallow Sofa, designed while he was working for George Nelson & Associates, as well as iconic clock designs for Howard Miller. Take a look at a few pieces from his extensive portfolio in our latest roundup.

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