Herman Miller Archives

Yves Behar examines some of the blueprints for Eames furniture classics
The Archive Building contains rows and rows of blueprints, sketches, plans and correspondence dating back to the first half of the 20th-century
Fabric panels designed by Alexander Girard for Herman Miller in the early seventies
In 1964, Herman Miller introduced the world’s first open-plan office system. The Action Office revolutionised workplace design and consisted of modular components that could respond to changes quickly
Behar and Recor with an original moulded plywood leg splint designed by Charles and Ray Eames for the US Navy. The technology used to develop the product informed their future furniture designs
Behar with archive sketches for Herman Miller office chairs
Original fabric designs in the archives
The mould for the original Eames fibreglass ’shell’ chair
The archives contain many vintage prototypes and limited edition models
Model trucks showing the Herman Miller graphic identity designed as a favour by Irving Harper in the 1940s
A production line of ’Mirra’ chairs, which has surpassed one million units shipped and was designed by Studio 7.5 in Berlin
In the US it is possible to buy Herman Miller desk top air-con
A showcase of Herman Miller products at the Greenhouse Building where the ’Aeron’ chair is made
The ’Scissor Chair’, designed by Ward Bennett in 1968 for Brickel, a company subsequently bought by Geiger (becoming Geiger Brickel), which was later acquired by Herman Miller in 1997. The design is in continuous production and still available today
A wall-mounted memory game in the corridor at the Herman Miller Design Yard
In addition to housing the design and development teams, and having memory games in the corridors, the Design Yard is also where the executive team is now officed, as the company wanted to have the executives close to the design process
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Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
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