Design Research (store)
Encyclopedia
Design Research or D/R was an innovative retail store founded in 1953 by Ben Thompson in Cambridge, Massachusetts
; later it became a chain of a dozen stores across the United States; it went bankrupt in 1978. Thompson's goal was to provide "a place where people could buy everything they needed for contemporary living", notably modern
European furnishings and in particular Scandinavian design
.
D/R has continued to have an outsized reputation: in 2000, a survey of influential design stores named D/R as number one, though it had been closed for 22 years. It influenced later retailers like Crate & Barrel and Design Within Reach.
to clothing
, from toy
s to pots and pans
, at a wide range of prices, introducing the idea of a "lifestyle store". It carried furnishings by such designers as Marcel Breuer
, Hans Wegner
, Alvar Aalto
, and Joe Colombo
.
Design Research was the exclusive U.S. representative for the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko
from 1959 to 1976. Jacqueline Kennedy was pictured on the cover of Life Magazine in the early 60's in a Marimekko dress purchased at D/R.
Design Research store was in a 19th-century wood frame mansard house on Brattle Street, Cambridge. D/R later added stores in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, Lexington Avenue
(1961) and East 57th Street (1964) in New York City
, and Ghirardelli Square
in San Francisco (1965).
In 1969, Thompson moved the Cambridge store to a revolutionary new 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) store designed by his firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates, at 48 Brattle Street. The building consists of flat concrete slab
s supported by interior columns and enclosed by frameless tempered glass walls. It immediately received warm reviews: "points the way to a method of glass building that could create a warmer city, adding color and light and optimism to the life of the streets". It won many awards over the years:
The first D/R stores were all located in urban areas, but under new management starting in 1969, D/R opened stores in suburban shopping mall
s, which Thompson disapproved of: South Shore Plaza
in Braintree, Massachusetts
(1972), South Coast Plaza
in Costa Mesa (1972), the Embarcadero Center
in San Francisco (1973), The Mall at Chestnut Hill
in Newton, Massachusetts
(1974). It also opened a downtown Philadelphia store in Rittenhouse Square
(1975).
building housed a Crate and Barrel
store (1979-January 2009).
From October 2009 to April 2010, the vacant Brattle Street store hosted a temporary installation of D/R goods, visible from the street.
The building now houses an Anthropologie
store (August 2010- ).
, who became chairman.
In 1969, Sprague forced Thompson out as director of the company, but Thompson remained a stockholder. Under a succession of presidents, D/R opened many new stores, but Thompson felt that the stores had lost their distinctive style and approach. By 1976, the business was deteriorating, and in 1979, it declared bankruptcy. Rights to the names "Design Research" and "DR" were bought jointly by Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn
.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
; later it became a chain of a dozen stores across the United States; it went bankrupt in 1978. Thompson's goal was to provide "a place where people could buy everything they needed for contemporary living", notably modern
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
European furnishings and in particular Scandinavian design
Scandinavian Design
Scandinavian design emerged in the 1950s in the three Scandinavian countries , as well as Finland. It is a design movement characterized by simple designs, minimalism, functionality, and low-cost mass production....
.
D/R has continued to have an outsized reputation: in 2000, a survey of influential design stores named D/R as number one, though it had been closed for 22 years. It influenced later retailers like Crate & Barrel and Design Within Reach.
Selection of products
Design Research carried an eclectic selection of products, from furnitureFurniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
to clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
, from toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s to pots and pans
Cookware and bakeware
Cookware and bakeware are types of food preparation containers commonly found in the kitchen. Cookware comprises cooking vessels, such as saucepans and frying pans, intended for use on a stove or range cooktop. Bakeware comprises cooking vessels intended for use inside an oven...
, at a wide range of prices, introducing the idea of a "lifestyle store". It carried furnishings by such designers as Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
, Hans Wegner
Hans Wegner
Hans Jørgen Wegner, , was a successful Danish furniture designer who contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His work belongs to a modernist school with emphasis on functionality. He is probably best known for his chairs.-Early years:Born to cobbler Peter M...
, Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
, and Joe Colombo
Joe Colombo
Joe Colombo may refer to:* Joseph Colombo , American gangster, boss of the Colombo crime family* Joe Cesare Colombo , Italian industrial designer...
.
Design Research was the exclusive U.S. representative for the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko
Marimekko
Marimekko is a Finnish company based in Helsinki that has made important contributions to fashion, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. They are particularly noted for brightly-colored printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings.- Foundation :Marimekko was...
from 1959 to 1976. Jacqueline Kennedy was pictured on the cover of Life Magazine in the early 60's in a Marimekko dress purchased at D/R.
Stores
The original Harvard SquareHarvard Square
Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...
Design Research store was in a 19th-century wood frame mansard house on Brattle Street, Cambridge. D/R later added stores in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, Lexington Avenue
Lexington Avenue (Manhattan)
Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated by New Yorkers as "Lex," is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street...
(1961) and East 57th Street (1964) in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Ghirardelli Square
Ghirardelli Square
Ghirardelli Square is a landmark with shops and restaurants in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco, California, USA. A portion of the area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Pioneer Woolen Mills and D. Ghirardelli Company....
in San Francisco (1965).
In 1969, Thompson moved the Cambridge store to a revolutionary new 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) store designed by his firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates, at 48 Brattle Street. The building consists of flat concrete slab
Concrete slab
A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings. Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete, typically between 10 and 50 centimeters thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving.In many domestic and...
s supported by interior columns and enclosed by frameless tempered glass walls. It immediately received warm reviews: "points the way to a method of glass building that could create a warmer city, adding color and light and optimism to the life of the streets". It won many awards over the years:
- 1970: New England AIA Honor Award, New England Chapter of the American Institute of ArchitectsAmerican Institute of ArchitectsThe American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
- 1971: Harleston Parker MedalHarleston Parker MedalThe Harleston Parker Medal was established in 1921 by J. Harleston Parker to recognize “such architects as shall have, in the opinion of the Boston Society of Architects. ....
for Outstanding Architecture, Boston Society of ArchitectsBoston Society of ArchitectsOne of the oldest and largest chapters of the AIA, the Boston Society of Architects is a nonprofit membership organization committed to architecture, design and the built environment .-History:... - 1971: National Honor Award, American Institute of Architects
- 2003: AIA Twenty-five Year AwardTwenty-five Year AwardThe Twenty-five Year Award is an architecture prize awarded by the American Institute of Architects to buildings and structures that have "stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years", and that "[exemplify] design of enduring significance." The project receiving the award can be located anywhere in...
for "architecture of enduring significance"
The first D/R stores were all located in urban areas, but under new management starting in 1969, D/R opened stores in suburban shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s, which Thompson disapproved of: South Shore Plaza
South Shore Plaza
South Shore Plaza is an enclosed shopping mall located in Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. It is anchored by Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Sears, Nordstrom, and Target. The mall currently has of retail and dining space, including a large food court....
in Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree, Massachusetts
The Town of Braintree is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a town, Braintree adopted a municipal charter, effective 2008, with a mayor-council form of government and is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 35,744...
(1972), South Coast Plaza
South Coast Plaza
South Coast Plaza is an upscale-luxury shopping center in Costa Mesa, California, USA, in Orange County. The largest mall in California, its sales of over 1.5 billion are highest in the United States...
in Costa Mesa (1972), the Embarcadero Center
Embarcadero Center
Embarcadero Center is a commercial complex of five office towers and two hotels on a site located off the Embarcadero in the financial district of San Francisco, California. The Trammell Crow, David Rockefeller and John Portman development was begun with Tower One in 1971, with the last...
in San Francisco (1973), The Mall at Chestnut Hill
The Mall at Chestnut Hill
The Mall at Chestnut Hill is an upscale, two-level enclosed shopping mall, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, Massachusetts on Boylston Street...
in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
(1974). It also opened a downtown Philadelphia store in Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are...
(1975).
Later tenants of Brattle Street store
After D/R closed in 1978, the Brattle StreetBrattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, called the "King's Highway" or "Tory Row" before the American Revolutionary War, is the site of many buildings of historic interest, including the modernist glass-and-concrete building that housed the Design Research store,and a Georgian mansion where...
building housed a Crate and Barrel
Crate and Barrel
Crate & Barrel is a 170+ store chain of American retail stores, based in Northbrook, Illinois, specializing in housewares, furniture , and home accessories. Its corporate name is Euromarket Designs, Inc. The company is wholly owned by Otto GmbH.-Founding:Gordon and Carole Segal opened the first...
store (1979-January 2009).
From October 2009 to April 2010, the vacant Brattle Street store hosted a temporary installation of D/R goods, visible from the street.
The building now houses an Anthropologie
Anthropologie
Anthropologie is a chain of retail stores that sells women's apparel and accessories, home furnishings, imitation found objects and an array of gifts and decorative items.Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company is owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc...
store (August 2010- ).
Corporate History
Design Research was started by Thompson in 1953. Spencer Field, a furniture designer, joined the firm as a 50-50 business partner in the early 1950s. By 1966, it was clear that the company was underfinanced for Thompson's expansion plans, and Thompson started looking for outside investors. The company was organized as a new corporate entity in 1967 and was recapitalized, with Field's interest being bought out in February 1968 by Peter J. Sprague, an entrepreneur and chairman of National SemiconductorNational Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
, who became chairman.
In 1969, Sprague forced Thompson out as director of the company, but Thompson remained a stockholder. Under a succession of presidents, D/R opened many new stores, but Thompson felt that the stores had lost their distinctive style and approach. By 1976, the business was deteriorating, and in 1979, it declared bankruptcy. Rights to the names "Design Research" and "DR" were bought jointly by Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn is an American-based home furnishing store chain with retail stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Since September 1986, when it was purchased from GAP, Inc, Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc....
.
External links
- Design Research Headquarters at Great Buildings: photos, plans, bibliography from ArchitectureWeekArchitectureWeekArchitectureWeek is an international weekly magazine covering architecture and design, published online by Artifice, Inc. in Eugene, Oregon, United States...
. - Design Research Headquarters at the Archiplanet wiki, a service of ArchitectureWeek