{"title":"Robin Day Vintage","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day OBE (1915 - 2010) and his wife Lucienne Day, furniture and print designers, are amongst the most acclaimed and influential British designers from the post-war era, often put on a par with their American contemporaries, Charles and Ray Eames\u003cem\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day was born in High Wycombe in 1915, the son of a police constable. He trained as an industrial and furniture designer at the Royal College of Art in London, where he met Lucienne.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day rose to fame during the 1951 festival of Britain where he won the Chartered Society of Designers's Minerva Medal, the highest tribute the Society offers and was awarded for lifetime achievement in the field of design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day believed in the power of modern furniture and design to uplift and make the world a better place, and right from the start of his career, he dedicated himself to the design of low-cost, ‘high tech’, mass-produced furniture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhereas pre-war furniture was solid and ponderous, Robin’s designs were trimmed down as with his 1952 Reclining chair. “What one needs in today’s small rooms is to see over and under one’s furniture,” he told a journalist in 1955.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the 1963 Polypropylene chair for the manufacturer Hille, a worldwide hit, he achieved his ultimate goal. Light, strong, flexible, scratch-proof, heat-resistant and hard-wearing, produced in the millions, it has spawned innumerable copies. Robin went on to create a whole ‘polyprop’ family - the 1967 Polypropylene armchair, the 1971 Series E school chairs and the jaunty indoor\/outdoor Polo chair in 1975.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDurability and comfort were always key features of Robin Day’s designs, hence his interest in public seating. His designs were used for decades in prestigious and demanding locations such as the Gatwick Bench in the Tate Britain, 1980s auditorium seating for the Barbican Art Centre in London and 1990s Toro and Woodrow seating on London Underground.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"royal-festival-hall-table","title":"Robin Day | Royal Festival Hall Table | 1951","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRoyal Festival Hall Table\u003c\/strong\u003e by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/twentytwentyone.mom\/designer\/robin-day\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobin Day\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day was awarded the highly significant commission to design furniture for the Royal Festival Hall almost immediately following his success in the Museum of Modern Art competition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Royal Festival Hall represented the first modern public building to be constructed after the war, and formative in the South Bank redevelopment. It was a large and complex building, demanding a host of visitor and user needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeter Moro was part of the team of architects for the building and oversaw the interior specifications. Robin Day was assigned the challenge to design for the concert hall, orchestra and public seating for restaurants, foyer, and terraces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis seating designs for the free-flowing public areas and restaurants are now recognized as landmarks in the history of modern furniture and examples of the sophisticated and progressive plywood group are held in museum collections worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dining table created to complement the seating was equally modern in aesthetic and function. The lightweight leg structure echoed that of the chairs, reflecting the open and light spaces of the building and allowing the deep top to apparently float in a similar manner to the sculptural plywood backs of the seating.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth round and square designs were created for the building, with outdoor versions employed on the terraces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pioneering furniture designs formed an integral part of the modernistic architectural design of the Royal Festival Hall and were influential in the integration of contemporary design in the post-war era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe progressive auditorium seating remains in use to this day, and whilst the orchestra chairs were refurbished several times, the majority of the original furniture was destroyed or disposed of by London County Council.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":null,"offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":20765921280111,"sku":"991197","price":1800.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0032\/4966\/8207\/products\/robin-day-festival-hall-table-1.jpg?v=1644974303"},{"product_id":"robin-day-hilleplan-desk","title":"Robin Day Hilleplan desk | 1952","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobin Day Hilleplan writing desk\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eby\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/twentytwentyone.mom\/designer\/robin-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobin Day\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efor\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/twentytwentyone.mom\/manufacturer\/hille\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHille\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, 1952.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Unit J, Hilleplan desk is a modern interpretation of the classical drop-front desk from the 18th Century. In the early 19th Century the Shakers produced a tall, plain version known as the ‘cupboard desk’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe restrained modernist elevation by Robin Day marries with the Hilleplan family through dimensions and detailing, though the cabinet-making is more complex with the combination of drawers and desk unit. The marriage works well and despite the simple design, the use of contrasting elm and walnut adds a dynamic and affluent feel. The recessed handles provide a flat and minimal appearance to the desk, which is echoed through the functionalist layout within. The writing desk was the more expensive and is thus a rarer model from the Hilleplan family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hilleplan range was designed in 1952 and based around an 18inch module. It was Robin Day’s first storage system that reached production following his award-winning design for MOMA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hilleplan range of units were designed to offer users flexibility and to work singularly, or as part of a system. It was quite different from anything else in the market at the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day went to design several other storage systems, such as Interplan, that anticipated the demand for flexible needs in both domestic and commercial interiors.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hille","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31293891870831,"sku":"991223","price":1850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0032\/4966\/8207\/products\/robin-day-hilleplan-secretaire-1.jpg?v=1644974250"},{"product_id":"robin-day-interplan-cabinet-unit-m-1954-hille-vintage","title":"Robin Day | Interplan cabinet (Unit M) 1954 | Hille","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInterplan cabinet (Unit M)\u003c\/strong\u003e by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/twentytwentyone.mom\/designer\/robin-day\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobin Day\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e for \u003cstrong\u003eHille\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInterplan was an extensive range of storage units designed around a standard module size. The cabinets worked singularly or as a system. With fourteen modules available, the range offered a new level of flexibility for users. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaunched at the Milan Triennale in 1954, the range was well received for its timeless and restrained design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was produced with either rosewood or ash veneered fronts that sat flush with the solid mahogany case. Using inset brass handles the modernist outline for flat-fronted cabinets proposed a new aesthetic for storage when many other designs maintained recessed drawer and door fronts, often within bevelled frames.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe model offered is the highest specification of the range; the largest of the modular dimensions, with both drawers and doors, with fronts and carcass in rosewood veneer. The original cost for such a model was high and as such, it is a very scarce design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day is Britain’s most renowned furniture designer. Having won the Museum of Modern Art’s Low-Cost Furniture Competition in 1948, he went on to design an exceptional and respected cross-section of furniture in a career spanning more than 60 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn acute understanding of materials and manufacturing processes, aligned with progressive design skills allowed for landmarks in the history of furniture design. His polypropylene seating is acknowledged as the world’s best-selling chair.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day’s achievements are not restricted to furniture and his industrial designs, exhibitions, graphics and interiors are highly respected for individual flair and modernist sensibilities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlongside his wife, textile designer Lucienne Day, the couple is revered and acknowledged for introducing contemporary design to Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":null,"offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40874272096367,"sku":"991261","price":3300.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0032\/4966\/8207\/products\/hille-robin-day-interplan-unit-m-rosewood-vintage-1.jpg?v=1656689946"},{"product_id":"robin-day-hwh-lounge-chair-high-wide-and-handsome-1958-hille","title":"Robin Day | HWH lounge chair (High Wide and Handsome) | 1958 | Hille","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHWH lounge chair (High Wide and Handsome)\u003c\/strong\u003e by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/twentytwentyone.mom\/designer\/robin-day\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobin Day\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e for \u003cstrong\u003eHille\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe High Wide and Handsome chair is one of a handful of fully upholstered seating designs by Robin Day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe HWH is a generous lounge chair with a grand scale and its form dedicated toward comfort. The shape shows the influence of other organic-modern seating designs such as Saarinen’s Womb chair, but HWH has its own distinct character with its fine steel sled base formed to enhance the dynamic stance of the chair.  The twin apertures in the back enhance the lightness ro the design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe HWH was a highly progressive design by British and European aesthetics and construction, using moulded plywood to create a slim profile with high comfort levels provided through lumbar support, high backrest and generous arms. The concept of a more relaxed type of sitting posture was clearly encouraged.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a design that found favour in the Day household and historical images show the chair in use at their London home\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day is Britain’s most renowned furniture designer. Having won the Museum of Modern Art’s Low-Cost Furniture Competition in 1948, he went on to design an exceptional and respected cross-section of furniture in a career spanning more than 60 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn acute understanding of materials and manufacturing processes, aligned with progressive design skills allowed for landmarks in the history of furniture design. His polypropylene seating is acknowledged as the world’s best-selling chair.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobin Day’s achievements are not restricted to furniture and his industrial designs, exhibitions, graphics and interiors are highly respected for individual flair and modernist sensibilities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlongside his wife, textile designer Lucienne Day, the couple is revered and acknowledged for introducing contemporary design to Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":null,"offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40874278584431,"sku":"991266","price":2800.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0032\/4966\/8207\/products\/hille-robin-day-hwh-lounge-chair-high-wide-and-handsome-5.jpg?v=1656691478"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.twentytwentyone.mom\/collections\/robin-day-vintage.oembed","provider":"twentytwentyone","version":"1.0","type":"link"}