Davis Allen
{{Short description|American architect and designer (1916–1999)}}
{{For|the American football player|Davis Allen (American football)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Davis Allen
| image =
| image_size =
| other_names =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|7|13}}
| birth_place = Ames, Iowa, United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|5|13|1917|7|13}}
| death_place = Fort Lauderdale, Florida
| death_cause =
| occupation = Architect
Interior designer
Furniture designer
| years_active =
| alma mater = Brown University
National Swedish Institute for Building Research
Yale School of Architecture
}}
Davis Allen (July 13, 1916 – May 13, 1999) was an American architect, interior, and furniture designer. He was noted as a pioneer in the design of interior corporate environments and had a forty-year tenure at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.{{Cite news |last=Pace |first=Eric |date=May 23, 1999 |title=Davis Allen, 82, a Designer Of Modern Business Interiors |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/23/nyregion/davis-allen-82-a-designer-of-modern-business-interiors.html |access-date=February 2, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306034756/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/23/nyregion/davis-allen-82-a-designer-of-modern-business-interiors.html |url-status=live }}
Life and career
Davis Brewster Allen was born in Ames, Iowa and then lived in Illinois. He was educated at Brown University, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and the Yale School of Architecture. He served in the US Army during World War II.{{Cite web |title=Davis B. Allen: 1985 Hall of Fame Inductee |url=https://interiordesign.net/designwire/allen-davis/ |access-date=February 9, 2024 |website=Interior Design |language=en-US |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331003444/https://interiordesign.net/designwire/allen-davis/ |url-status=live }}
After first working at Knoll, and then with the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz, he moved to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1950. He became a partner in 1965, and remained at SOM until his retirement in 1990. Paola Antonelli of the Museum of Modern Art described Allen's "contribution to defining the modern office" as "enormous".{{Cite book |last=Antonelli |first=Paola |author-link=Paola Antonelli |title=Workspheres: Design and Contemporary Work Styles |publisher=Museum of Modern Art |year=2001 |isbn=9780810962170 |pages=27}}
In 1983 he designed the "Andover" chair for Stendig International.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/19/garden/home-beat.html|title=HOME BEAT|first=Suzanne|last=Slesin|date=January 19, 1984|via=NYTimes.com|access-date=July 29, 2018|archive-date=July 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729081446/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/19/garden/home-beat.html|url-status=live}} After Stendig was acquired by Burlington Industries, which eventually went out of business, this design was reintroduced by Knoll in 1993 as the "Exeter" chair.{{Cite web |title=Davis Allen {{!}} Knoll |url=https://www.knoll.com/designer/Davis-Allen |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=Knoll Inc. |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108073820/https://www.knoll.com/designer/Davis-Allen |url-status=live }} Allen also designed furniture for Steelcase, GF, Stow Davis, Bernhardt, and Hickory Business Furniture.
David Rowland, the designer of the 40/4 chair, gives credit to Allen, who "liked the design and immediately" and "put me in touch with GF", the 40/4 chair's eventual manufacturer.{{Cite web |title=Re/Wind: David Rowland’s Howe 40/4 |url=https://livingedge.com.au/inspiration/blog-news/reset-david-rowlands-howe-40-4.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=livingedge.com.au |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210223642/https://livingedge.com.au/inspiration/blog-news/reset-david-rowlands-howe-40-4.html |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Von |first1=Robinson |date=December 2004 |title=99% Perspiration |journal=Metropolis |page=149}}
In 1985, Allen was inducted into the Interior Design Magazine Hall Of Fame.{{Cite web |url=http://www.interiordesign.net/HoFDesigners/1.html?bio=all |title=Interior Design | Hall of Fame Designer – Mr. Davis Allen |access-date=2008-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523133137/http://www.interiordesign.net/HoFDesigners/1.html?bio=all |archive-date=2008-05-23 |url-status=dead }}
Examples of Allen's designs are in held in museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago, sought by collectors, and sold for large sums at auction.{{Cite web |date=1916 |title=Davis Brewster Allen |url=https://www.artic.edu/artists/44861/davis-brewster-allen |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Art Institute of Chicago |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=31 March 2011 |title=DAVIS ALLEN, lounge chair from the Inland Steel Company Building, Chicago |url=https://www.wright20.com/auctions/2011/03/modern-design/199 |access-date=14 October 2024 |website=www.wright20.com}}
Publications
- {{cite book |last=Slavin |first=Maeve |author-link= |date=1990 |title=Davis Allen: 40 Years of Interior Design at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |url= |location=New York |publisher=Rizzoli |page= |isbn=9780847812554}}
- {{cite book |last=Banham |first=Joanna |author-link= |date=1997 |title=Encyclopedia of Interior Design |url=https://www.routledge.com/Encyclopedia-of-Interior-Design/Banham/p/book/9781884964190 |location= Milton Park, UK |publisher=Routledge |page= |isbn=9781884964190}}
References
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Category:American interior designers
Category:American furniture designers
Category:Yale School of Architecture alumni
Category:Skidmore, Owings & Merrill people