TEN BY WARREN PLATNER
Warren Platner, Ezra Stoller [foreword]
Warren Platner, Ezra Stoller [foreward]: TEN BY WARREN PLATNER. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. First edition. Octavo. Paper covered photo illustrated boards. Leatherette quarter covers stamped in white. Publishers screen printed acetate sleeve. Photo marbled endpapers. 194 pp. Color photography throughout. Board edges lightly etched [as usual]. Acetate sleeve lightly rubbed. A nearly fine copy of an elaborately-produced period piece.
9 x 12 hardcover book with 194 pages with many color photos by Ezra Stoller and others, spotlighting ten projects by Platner's Office.
Spotlighted projects include:
- Kent Memorial Library
- The Grill (TWA)
- Teknor Apex Offices
- Steelcase Chicago Showroom
- Prospect Center Princeton
- MGIC Headquarters
- Yale Club
- Jensen Design Center
- American Restaurant
- Jensen Design Center
- Country Residence
Here is a short biography of Platner: Architect and designer Warren Platner (1919 – 2006) was born in Baltimore and graduated from the Cornell University School of Architecture in 1941. Between 1945 and 1950 he worked for Raymond Loewy and I.M. Pei. He was a part of Eero Saarinen's office from 1960-65, participating in the designs for the Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., the Repertory Theater at Lincoln Center and several dormitories at Yale University. It was after this extensive exposure to many innovative modern designers of the period, and having gathered a great deal of experience, that Platner opened his own office, Platner Associates, in Connecticut in 1967.
In the 1960s, Platner developed what is known as the Knoll "Platner Collection," his major furniture contribution to the mid-century landscape. For this series of chairs, ottomans and tables, Platner designed both the structure and the production method. Production was complicated because the sculptural bases were made of hundreds of rods and for some chairs required more than 1,000 welds. An intricate cylindrical mesh steel base, creating a unique architectural play between the interior and exterior space, supported the upholstered seat. Compared, by the Knoll catalogue, to a sheaf of wheat, their shiny nickel finish alluded more to the technological innovations used to create their elegant, distinctly modern appearance. In creating these pieces he wrote that, "as a designer, I felt there was room for the kind of decorative, gentle, graceful kind of design that appeared in period style like Louis XV."
Platner designed other office furniture and was also involved in a number of large architecture and interior design commissions in which he was often responsible for details down to the dishes and textiles, in addition to the furniture and textiles. Some of his major works were the interiors and lighting for the Windows on the World Restaurant in the World Trade Center, the Georg Jensen Design Center and WaterTower Place in Chicago.