Robin Day (designer)
Encyclopedia
Robin Day, OBE
, FCSD
(25 May 1915 – 9 November 2010) was a British chartered industrial and furniture designer, best-known for the injection moulded polypropylene stacking chair
, more than 20 million of which have been manufactured. It was one of the first pieces of furniture to fully use the mass-manufacturing opportunities of injection moulding
and was selected as one of eight designs in a 2009 series of British stamps of "British Design Classics".
Day rose to prominence during the 1951 Festival of Britain
. He was a past winner of the Chartered Society of Designers
's Minerva Medal, the highest accolade the Society can offer and was awarded for a lifetime achievement in the field of design. He was a patron of the South Coast Design Forum.
He married Lucienne Conradi
(1917–2010) in 1942; the couple had one child, a daughter. Lucienne Day was a noted textile designer, who died in 2010, the same year as her husband.
The couple retired in 2000 to Chichester
.
An exhibition of Lucienne Day's textiles and Robin Day's furniture, "Robin and Lucienne Day: Design and the Modern Interior", was held between 26 March and 26 June 2011 at Pallant House Gallery
in Chichester.
The exhibition was also shown at PM Gallery & House in Ealing
between 15 July and 4 September 2011.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FCSD
Chartered Society of Designers
The Chartered Society of Designers , headquartered in London, England, is the professional body for designers. It is the world's only Royal chartered body of professional designers...
(25 May 1915 – 9 November 2010) was a British chartered industrial and furniture designer, best-known for the injection moulded polypropylene stacking chair
Polypropylene stacking chair
The Polypropylene stacking chair or Polyprop is a chair manufactured in an injection moulding process using polypropylene. It was designed by Robin Day in 1963 for S.Hille & Co...
, more than 20 million of which have been manufactured. It was one of the first pieces of furniture to fully use the mass-manufacturing opportunities of injection moulding
Injection moulding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
and was selected as one of eight designs in a 2009 series of British stamps of "British Design Classics".
Day rose to prominence during the 1951 Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
. He was a past winner of the Chartered Society of Designers
Chartered Society of Designers
The Chartered Society of Designers , headquartered in London, England, is the professional body for designers. It is the world's only Royal chartered body of professional designers...
's Minerva Medal, the highest accolade the Society can offer and was awarded for a lifetime achievement in the field of design. He was a patron of the South Coast Design Forum.
He married Lucienne Conradi
Lucienne Day
Désirée Lucienne Day RDI was a British textile designer. Inspired by abstract art, she pioneered the use of bright, optimistic, abstract patterns in post-war England, and was eventually celebrated worldwide....
(1917–2010) in 1942; the couple had one child, a daughter. Lucienne Day was a noted textile designer, who died in 2010, the same year as her husband.
Career
Robin and Lucienne Day established themselves as Britain's most celebrated post-war designer couple, and have often been compared to their US contemporaries, Charles Eames and Ray Eames.The couple retired in 2000 to Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
.
An exhibition of Lucienne Day's textiles and Robin Day's furniture, "Robin and Lucienne Day: Design and the Modern Interior", was held between 26 March and 26 June 2011 at Pallant House Gallery
Pallant House Gallery
Pallant House Gallery is an art gallery in Chichester, West Sussex, England. It houses one of the best collections of 20th century British art in the world....
in Chichester.
The exhibition was also shown at PM Gallery & House in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
between 15 July and 4 September 2011.