Egyptian designer

Egyptian domestic architecture, interior

architectural detail and surface treatment
were influenced by the hierarchical status of
the owner as well as by economy.
Floors were covered with a variety of
materials; mainly mud plaster or mud brick
although stone and glazed tiles were also
incorporated in the palaces .
Walls were often surfaced with plaster
applied to a base of brick or mud.
When the owner was affluent, stone or
glazed tiles were used to line the walls.
Ornamental treatment for wall surfaces
include painting, use of inlay, and relief
carving .
Examples of Egyptian decorative motifs.

Greek designer

The Greeks, like the Romans, had a love for

monumentality and grandeur, and marble which
was in abundant supply in Greece, proved to be
the perfect conduit to achieving their aspirations.
Designers of later periods adopted and
adapted from ancient Greece and Rome such
features as axial planning, utilizing the
colonnade as a space planning tool, using
natural light as an effective design element, the
atrium plan, among others.
Classical motifs were used both structurally
and decoratively they took the form of numerous
mouldings and pediments and other decorative
effects and designs on walls
and ceilings.
Greek buildings are based on central courtyard
theme the courtyard layout in which the court
was the focus of the plan and the various rooms
were cuddled around it.

The dining room was typically the largest room

in the house .

Couches and furniture were usually arranged

around the perimeter of the room

Materials and Building Techniques

The Greeks were the first to use columns in a
structural manner on the exterior of their
buildings, as evidenced in the porticos and
colonnades.
Marble and limestone were indigenous materials
and were used extensively for the exterior and
interiors of many of their temples and secular
buildings.
In domestic architecture, floor treatment varied
according to the status of the owner, ranging
from the simply utilitarian to the very decorative.

Furniture and Decoration

The Greeks used marble, bronze,

iron, and wood in the manufacture of
their furniture.
Decorative enhancements were
achieved through relief carving and
the use of inlay and
painting.
The Greeks used various materials
in their inlay work, including imported
woods, gold, ivory, and gems.

Examples of typical Greek decorative motifs.

Roman designer
The Romans often used the
columns in a decorative and
non-structural manner.
This emphasis on the interior
is reflected not only in the
lavish palaces

Furniture
Furniture was made of wood, marble, bronze, iron,
and precious metals, usually enriched with carving or
relief ornament.
The dining rooms were the most elaborate areas
and contained couches placed around a low central
table.
The couches were covered with cushions and
tapestries embroidered with gold and silver thread
imported from Babylonia or Egypt.

Gothic Design (1150 to 1500)

The plan form was typically in the shape of a Latin
Cross.
The characteristic features of the Gothic style are
an accentuation of the vertical line, a constancy
towards height and lightness while minimizing the
role of the wall, which became thinner and very
delicate, being broken up into tall bays.
The Gothic style is characterized by the use of the
pointed arch (which was substituted for the
semicircular arch), groin vault, buttress, tracery, and
large windows, with a corresponding reduction in
wall areas.

Examples of Gothic design elements and decoration.

Furniture
Almost all the furniture and woodwork of this
period was in natural-finished oak, although
walnut was used on occasion.
The designs were heavy in their proportions
and rectangular in shape.
The parts were assembled with wooden
dowels, mortise-and- tenon joints and hand-cut
dovetails.
Furniture designs and ornamentation were
borrowed from architectural forms and motifs

Examples of Gothic furniture displaying a

characteristic emphasis on the vertical. a) Chair
showing line nfold, tracery and buttresses. b)
Credence. c) Oak chest with tracery carving.

NEOCLASSIC PERIOD AND 19TH CENTURY

Prominent artistic personalities of this period include architects like Robert and James
Adam, Sir John Soane, and Sir William Chambers, and designers like Henry Holland.

Adam collaborated with cabinetmakers such as

Chippendale and Hepplewhite .
In France, neoclassic interiors discarded the
rococo curves, without sacrificing their charm.

While retaining the delightful lines and proportions

of the monarchy, less carved ornament was used .

 Furniture developed in the previous period continued to be made; proportions

remained light and delicate, but the dominant line of design was straight and the shape
took on a rectangular form .

PERIOD FURNITURE
The most costly furniture in this Early Colonial period
was usually of solid wood unfinished .
The pine panelling on the walls might be left
unfinished, waxed, or painted.

RECENT HISTORY
The early 20th century was an age of
contradictions, as well as great inventiveness.
The early 20th century also witnessed great
architectural giants and visionaries like Frank
Lloyd Wright, Auguste Perret , Adolf Loos ,
Peter Behrens
and Le Corbusier , Eliel
Saarinen, Alvar Aalto, as well as leaders of the
Bauhaus like Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer
and Mies van der Rohe.
The two primary pioneering industry leaders
at the time that were renown for their innovative
approach to furniture design and manufacture
were Herman Miller and the Knoll company.

Mies van der Rohe

For his famous 1929 German Pavilion, Mies designed

the classic Barcelona chair and ottoman.
Subsequently, in 1930, he created the Brno and MR
Collections for the Tugendhat House in Brno,
Czechoslovakia

The Barcelona Chair frame was initially designed to be

bolted together .
But was redesigned in 1950 using stainless steel, which
allowed the frame to be formed by a seamless piece of
metal .
An icon of modernism, the chairs design was inspired by
the campaign and folding chairs of ancient times.

BARCELLONA STOOLS

 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe defined an

architectural vocabulary for the modern
world in terms that are clear and honest.
The Mies van der Rohe Collection reflects.
commitment to timeless.
These pieces mirror the groundbreaking
simplicity of their original environments, with
simple profiles, clean lines and meticulous
attention to detail.
They demonstrate the Bauhaus approach to
combining industrial materials and modern
forms.

chaise lounge, - adjustable chaise lounge