Design Timeline
A comprehensive chronicle of the furniture, architecture, and designers that defined an era of functional beauty and democratic design principles.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe & Lilly Reich
Created for the German Pavilion at the Barcelona International Exhibition, this chair epitomizes "less is more." The X-frame structure and buttoned leather cushions merge ancient Roman dignity with radical modernist principles. It would become the ultimate status symbol of corporate modernism.
The Nazi regime forces the closure of the Bauhaus school. Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe emigrate to the United States, establishing themselves at Harvard and the Illinois Institute of Technology, fundamentally reshaping American design education.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright completes Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, demonstrating organic architecture with cantilevered terraces over a waterfall. This masterpiece influences a generation of architects to integrate buildings with their natural surroundings.
MoMA Competition
Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen win first prize for their molded plywood chair design. This competition launches the careers of several key MCM designers and establishes the Museum of Modern Art as a tastemaker in American design.
Charles & Ray Eames
The Eameses perfect their molded plywood technique, creating the LCW chair. Time Magazine later calls it the "Best Design of the 20th Century." Herman Miller begins mass production, making modern design accessible to middle-class Americans.
Eero Saarinen
Florence Knoll challenged Saarinen to create "a chair that was like a basket full of pillows - something I could curl up in." His response revolutionized lounge seating with its embracing fiberglass shell and generous proportions that accommodate multiple sitting positions.
Isamu Noguchi
Sculptor Noguchi creates his iconic coffee table with a free-form glass top and interlocking wood base. The design perfectly balances art and function, becoming a symbol of sophisticated modern living.
Charles & Ray Eames
The Eames House in Pacific Palisades becomes a landmark of residential architecture. Built from off-the-shelf industrial materials, it demonstrates how prefabrication can create warm, livable spaces filled with light and color.
Harry Bertoia
Bertoia, a sculptor turned furniture designer, creates his revolutionary wire mesh chairs for Knoll. "If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them," he explained.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Mies completes his minimalist glass house in Illinois, epitomizing his "less is more" philosophy. The transparent pavilion floats above the landscape on steel columns, reducing architecture to its essential elements.
Charles & Ray Eames
The ultimate expression of mid-century luxury debuts on NBC's Home show. Combining molded plywood, leather, and die-cast aluminum, it reinterprets the English club chair for the modern era. Still in continuous production today.