Outdoor seats; a competition for manufacturers : in "Design", number 54, 1953
In 1953 the Council for Industrial Design, publishers of "Design", initiated a competition in assocaition with the City of Birmingham to design outdoor seating as part of a campaign to increase interest in the quality of street furniture. This was part of a long debate, that included the CoID, Architectural Review, Ian Nairn and John Betjeman and others, during the 1950s about the appearance of such items as street lights, benches, bins and bus shelters.
In later years the CoID and its successor the Design Council continued to endorse designs, issuing catalogues of 'recommended' designs. This competition judged by such as Herbert Manzoni, Birmingham's long serving City Engineer and architect of the city's post-war reconstruction, along with his long suffering colleague, A G Sheppard Fidler, the actual City Architect. There's also designers and architects including Gordon Cullen, Gordon Russell and Basil Spence who selected a range of benches and seats. The designers and manufacturers include various 'known' names. I wonder what became of the trials and later report?
Outdoor seats; a competition for manufacturers : in "Design", number 54, 1953
In 1953 the Council for Industrial Design, publishers of "Design", initiated a competition in assocaition with the City of Birmingham to design outdoor seating as part of a campaign to increase interest in the quality of street furniture. This was part of a long debate, that included the CoID, Architectural Review, Ian Nairn and John Betjeman and others, during the 1950s about the appearance of such items as street lights, benches, bins and bus shelters.
In later years the CoID and its successor the Design Council continued to endorse designs, issuing catalogues of 'recommended' designs. This competition judged by such as Herbert Manzoni, Birmingham's long serving City Engineer and architect of the city's post-war reconstruction, along with his long suffering colleague, A G Sheppard Fidler, the actual City Architect. There's also designers and architects including Gordon Cullen, Gordon Russell and Basil Spence who selected a range of benches and seats. The designers and manufacturers include various 'known' names. I wonder what became of the trials and later report?