Robin and Lucienne Day Essay Example

passion for design, culminating in their marriage in 1942. (Jackson 2001 p. 12).

In the early stages of Lucienne's professional journey, designers were often unknown and uncredited for their efforts. This norm proved difficult for Lucienne when she started working at Sekers and she subsequently left. (Jackson 2001 p. 12). Their creations only became evident in the early 1950s. Until that point, the design industry had been overshadowed by post-war government constraints and the ongoing production of blackout materials by the textile sector. (Design Museum, (no date) Robin and Lucienne Day [Online]. Accessed October 2007]. Available at: ).

Robin and Lucienne embarked on their teaching careers at the Beckenham School of Art. Eventually, Robin transitioned into the realm of exhibition and poster design, where he crafted recruiting posters for the RAF and designed exhibition booths for ICI. On the other hand, Lucienne ventured into fabric design within the clothing industry, contributing to firms such as Stevenson & Son and Marks and Spencer (Jackson 2001 p. 17-29). By 1948, Robin initiated a successful partnership with Clive Latimer, securing a win in the storage domain of the International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design.

Robin's partnership with Hille started when they asked him to conceptualize furniture for large scale production (Jackson 2001 p. 26-27). In 1951, he accepted the task of designing the seats for the Royal Festival Hall. It was a daunting project for Robin as the auditorium seats at that time were made from wood frames supported by cast-iron stanchions. He introduced innovation for this project by drawing inspiration from automobile manufacturing, utilizing modern materials like fiberglass for the lower parts of seats for soundproofing and pressed steel for

the structure of the seats.

The Royal Festival Hall's foyer, restaurant, terrace, and orchestra chairs were designed by him as well. Noteworthy is the innovative design of the orchestra chairs, which featured a gap at the back to accommodate the tail of the player’s coats (Jackson 2001, p. 36). Their professional success surged in the wake of the 1951 Britain Festival, where Robin was commissioned to design three room settings in the Home Entertainment section of the Homes and Gardens Pavilion. The brief was to concentrate on addressing storage issues, or more specifically, the deficiency thereof, and to create a versatile living room for the Entertainment section (Jackson 2001, p. 40-41).

His unique view on the modern living room design was particularly noteworthy, which involved the addition of a dining table. Despite it not being part of the original specifications, he saw it as: "...a crucial element of home entertainment" (Jackson 2001 p.41). During this time, Robin sought out Lucienne to create fabric designs and wallpaper to showcase in the pavilion. The entrance to the Entertainment section featured her "calyx" design produced by Heals, which showcased abstract floral elements that instantly captured the interest of all.

Heals were initially reluctant to produce her fabric designs, fearing they wouldn't sell. However, after achieving success at the pavilion, a 20-year long partnership with Heals ensued (Jackson 2001 p. 44-48). Lucienne attributed this positive transformation to people's fatigue with the dreariness and monotony of the wartime era, which she believed helped foster a new and brighter trend (Design Museum, (no date) Robin and Lucienne Day [Online]. [Accessed October 2007]. Available at: ). After the Festival of Britain, Robin continued his design

work, focusing on furniture for Hills and public seating arrangements.

During the year of 1958, he was responsible for the design of seats and benches for Gatwick airport. (Jackson 2001 p. 75). Additionally, he partnered with Pye between the years 1957 and 1965 to design contemporary televisions, stereograms, and radios. (Jackson 2001 p. 74). Concurrently, Lucienne was engaged in designing fashion and furnishing fabrics, ceramics, rugs, and table linens for companies such as Rosenthal, Thomas Somerset, and Cavendish. (Jackson 2001 p. 92-94). She started designing tableware for Rosenthal in 1957 with her first design named Bond Street, which featured an intriguing leaf pattern on the plates. (Jackson 2001 p. 95).

The Odyssey tableware, a captivating design crafted for Rosenthal in 1958, comprised of a jug, a cup and a saucer. Intriguingly, the edges of these pieces showcased an inscription in Greek script, taken from Homer's epic, encased in gold. The respective translation was presented on a separate plate (Jackson 2001 p. 97). Fast-forward to 1963, where Robin Day designed his most renowned piece of work – the Polypropylene side Chair for Hille. The chair was characterized by its lightness, strength, and flexibility. It boasted a heat-resistant and scratch-proof surface that, coupled with its shape, facilitated easy stacking – making it an ideal product for large-scale manufacturing.

The product was so affordable and long-lasting that it became a global sensation, with an astounding 20 million units produced (as per the Design Museum, Robin and Lucienne Day, currently not dated and accessed in October 2007). A quirky "riddle" advert caught attention, which was featured by Hill in the Architectural Review in September 1966. The intriguing question was: "What has 44

legs but is surprisingly light on its feet, possesses a weatherproof shell but sports varying covers, may or may not have arms, functions solo or in larger assemblies, is globally recognized but is just three years of age?" (as per Jackson 2001 p. 122).

The advertisement effectively highlighted the characteristics and considerable success of the polypropylene chair at that time. The chair, designed by Robin Day, was being manufactured and marketed worldwide. In 1980, during a visit to Botswana, he was able to truly measure the popularity of his design when he discovered they were being used as seats in several wooden canoes (Jackson 2001 p. 122). By the 1960s, both Robin and Lucienne had independently achieved recognition in their respective areas and were frequently invited to serve as advisors to numerous large corporations.

BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) was the first company that sought out their design prowess, tasking them with the design of the interiors of their brand-new super VC10 aircraft, which was put into service in 1962 (Jackson 2001 p. 136). That same year, Robin Day took on the responsibility of furnishing the main dining area, while Lucienne designed the curtains and additional fabrics at Churchill College in Cambridge (Jackson 2001 p. 138-139). Also in 1962, the Days kickstarted their extensive partnership with John Lewis, where they worked on designing the new store interiors (Jackson 2001 p. 40).

Robin created the E Series line of school chairs in 1971, catering to various sizes to address the growing demands of society. The smallest model was meant for young children, while the larger ones were crafted for older students in secondary schools. (Jackson 2001 p. 145). He

also turned his attention towards designing public seating for locations like classrooms, concert venues, and even the Underground. (Jackson 2001 p. 147-154). Later in 1990, he introduced the "Toro" seating, constructed completely from metal. Following this in 1991, he crafted the "Woodro" seating, uniquely made up of slatted hardwood. (Jackson 2001 p. 156).

In 1990, Lucienne crafted an exceptionally vibrant mosaic named “Aspects of the Sun”, which was showcased in the cafe of the newly established John Lewis department store in Kingston-upon-Thames (Jackson 2001 p. 161). The Days, who continue to work till date, have designs that endure time's scrutiny. Their work found renewed interest when Habitat reissued the polypropylene chair in fresh shades in 1999 (Jackson 2001 p. 122). Habitat again spotlighted their creation in 1999 by reintroducing the polypropylene chair with a new palette of translucent colors as part of the 20th century legends collection (Jackson 2001 p.169).

Robin Day stated in 1962, “A good design must fulfil its purpose well, be soundly constructed, and should express in its design this purpose and construction” (Design Museum, (no date) Robin and Lucienne Day [Online]. [Accessed October 2007]. Available at: ). Their work over the years has validated this claim. Working alongside Lucienne, Robin Day contributed to dismantling the bleak post-war era, redefining design with their high-quality, affordable mass-produced items accessible to everyone around the globe. This was their objective, and now in their 90's they can reflect on their accomplishments with pride, acknowledging "this is what we’ve achieved!".