99% Invisible Concrete Furniture
Feb 25, 2011
Explore the architectural marvel of Toronto's New City Hall, a striking concrete structure that challenged traditional aesthetics. Dive into the controversies surrounding the uncomfortable concrete desks and their reflection of cultural tensions in the 1960s. Discover the hidden legacy of concrete furniture, once common but now viewed as a nostalgic relic of urban design. Finally, learn how modern office spaces have evolved, highlighting the balance between functionality and aesthetics that shapes productivity and well-being.
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Concrete Defined The Building's Identity
- Toronto's New City Hall was deliberately expressive about concrete and modernism in a Victorian cityscape.
- The building's material choices shaped not just architecture but the city's visual identity and debates about modernism.
Architect's Personal Loss Over Furniture
- Viljo Revell wanted to design both City Hall and its furniture but lost the furniture commission to a second competition.
- He reportedly called that loss the biggest disappointment of his life and then subsequently passed away.
Furniture Mirrored The Building's Material
- Knoll International won the furniture competition with designs that echoed the building's concrete language.
- Their pieces used concrete legs across desks, tables, and cabinetry as a unified material statement.