Design No. 294 : Gustav Mahler, a Composition Desk at the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, 1910
atelier ying, nyc.
The composing huts of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler inspire this design.
Mahler's chief antagonist was the orchestra which he could never really neglect for long it's administrative functions the most important of which was as its conductor.
So the design honors him by proposing a dual function space that would allow him to separate from the orchestra for his composing work yet still be attached to it.
The enclosure has a built-in desk for composing. Also part cafe table and part dining table, there is actually no keyboard to work out issues of orchestration, a major consideration of this particular composer's work. The proximity of the space to his day-to-day conducting activities should already keep his ear fresh and primed. The desk is also a Viennese cafe table. It's layout recalls a clavichord with a sunken custom tray for condiments. This tray will be seen by Mahler as having an element of luxury as Austrian and German cuisines have precious few condiments. Below are three drawers. Each contains a leather bound book and a vertically laid out tray of tools specific to each book. The center contains Mahler's current composition(s), the right contains a Bach score and the left a Wagner score. The side drawers are inset in the manner of ottavini for a virginal. Two overhead art nouveau lamps (from the living room of the Villa Muller) provide balanced illumination whilst being unobtrusive when the occupant is seated. The Thonen chair and arm chair is by the architect Adolf Loos. The exterior of the enclosure is lined with travertine marble (unheard of for the Mahler composing huts) but the interior is lined in warm dark wood. One descends two steps into the space. Below the composer's feet the floor and back kick of the desk area are lined with a dark red plush carpet. The occupant will feel swallowed up by the space which with its cafe booth glass panels slightly above him allows a view of the rest of the orchestra house interior as a vast space, like a sunken living room thereby providing a more private space yet still very public. A channel of water in front of the entrance acts as a moat which deters onlookers. The location of the office suggests that of a press room for the orchestra hall with a shared wall adjacent to the auditorium as the orchestra stage door is steps away.
Note: please also see my design nos. 275a and b for related designs.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2016 by David Lo.
Design No. 294 : Gustav Mahler, a Composition Desk at the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, 1910
atelier ying, nyc.
The composing huts of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler inspire this design.
Mahler's chief antagonist was the orchestra which he could never really neglect for long it's administrative functions the most important of which was as its conductor.
So the design honors him by proposing a dual function space that would allow him to separate from the orchestra for his composing work yet still be attached to it.
The enclosure has a built-in desk for composing. Also part cafe table and part dining table, there is actually no keyboard to work out issues of orchestration, a major consideration of this particular composer's work. The proximity of the space to his day-to-day conducting activities should already keep his ear fresh and primed. The desk is also a Viennese cafe table. It's layout recalls a clavichord with a sunken custom tray for condiments. This tray will be seen by Mahler as having an element of luxury as Austrian and German cuisines have precious few condiments. Below are three drawers. Each contains a leather bound book and a vertically laid out tray of tools specific to each book. The center contains Mahler's current composition(s), the right contains a Bach score and the left a Wagner score. The side drawers are inset in the manner of ottavini for a virginal. Two overhead art nouveau lamps (from the living room of the Villa Muller) provide balanced illumination whilst being unobtrusive when the occupant is seated. The Thonen chair and arm chair is by the architect Adolf Loos. The exterior of the enclosure is lined with travertine marble (unheard of for the Mahler composing huts) but the interior is lined in warm dark wood. One descends two steps into the space. Below the composer's feet the floor and back kick of the desk area are lined with a dark red plush carpet. The occupant will feel swallowed up by the space which with its cafe booth glass panels slightly above him allows a view of the rest of the orchestra house interior as a vast space, like a sunken living room thereby providing a more private space yet still very public. A channel of water in front of the entrance acts as a moat which deters onlookers. The location of the office suggests that of a press room for the orchestra hall with a shared wall adjacent to the auditorium as the orchestra stage door is steps away.
Note: please also see my design nos. 275a and b for related designs.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2016 by David Lo.