Jonathan Olivares – Wikipedia

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American industrial designer

Jonathan Olivares
Jonathan Olivares Cropped Drew Altizer.jpg
Born December 1981

Boston, Massachusetts
Nationality American
Education Pratt Institute
Occupation Industrial Designer
Website www.jonathanolivares.com

Jonathan Olivares (born 1981)[1] is an American industrial designer and author.[2] Olivares’s approach to design has been characterized research-based and incremental.[3] In April 2022 he became Senior Vice-President of Design at the Knoll furniture company.[4][5]

Early life and education[edit]

Olivares grew up in the metropolitan Boston area, and skateboarded as a teenager.[6] He attended Boston College and The New School,[6] before graduating with a Bachelor of Industrial Design (B.I.D.) from Pratt Institute in 2004.[7] While a student, Olivares interned at Maison Margiela in Paris, where he worked on objects and interior,[8] In 2005 he apprenticed for the industrial designer Konstantin Grcic in Munich.[6] In 2006 Olivares began practicing industrial design independently,[9] and his first office was in his mother’s garage in Boston.[10] His design practice is now based in Los Angeles.[11]

Designs[edit]

In 2007 Olivares designed a multi-purpose cart called Smith for Danese Milano.[12][13] The form of the design is the result of a “balanced ecology” between multiple features; a container, a side-table or seat surface, handles, wheels, and a geometry that allows stacking.[14] The design “contains multitudes designed deliberately, a framework of potential” and requires its user to see “capacity instead of categories, in which a table could also be a seat, perhaps, if you chose to sit on it.”[15] Made of sheet metal,[16] “its versatility cohabits with its simplicity of construction and the environmental friendliness that comes from using a single material.”[17]

Between 2009 and 2012, Olivares developed the Aluminum Chair for Knoll,[18] a technically advanced, stacking outdoor chair made of a die cast aluminum seat shell and extruded aluminum legs.[19] The chair’s seat shell is 3mm thick at its thinnest, “looks soft, despite its metallic nature,”[19] and its “gracefully contoured form is slim, making it shaped for comfort.”[20]

In 2015 Olivares designed the Aluminum Bench for Zahner, a customizable bench system made from architectural aluminum extrusions,[21] that are “normally rolled to create the underlying frameworks for curvaceous architectural claddings.”[22] The “extrusions are the bench’s principle structural element, connecting its seating surface to its vertical cast legs,”[23] and “as the extrusions can be formed to any contour”[23] the bench can be “made in relation to specific architectural contexts.”[23] In 2017 the Aluminum Bench was included in the Super Benches installation outside of Stockholm, curated by Felix Burrichter of Pin-Up Magazine.[24]

The Twill Weave Daybed, commissioned from Olivares by the Harvard Graduate School of Design for 9 Ash Street, was realized in 2017 with the support of Kvadrat.[25] The daybed is “predominately made of woven textile,”[26] and “the narrow carbon fiber legs and cross beams, are manufactured using mast-making mandrels.”[6] The daybed is strong enough to support the weight of a car, “but its mass is formed from material that is, for all intents and purposes, a textile.”[6] The carbon fiber structure and a wool cushion that is died the color of graphite, are both twill weaves.[9] This combination of materials results in a design that is simultaneously visually homogenous and celebrates the different materials used to make it.[9]

Olivares designed a retail store for the Mallorcan shoe brand Camper at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan in 2019.[27] The store furniture is milled from Indiana limestone, which was a nod to the building’s iconic facade made of the same material,[28] and the stockroom is replaced by archival sliding storage racks which sit in the open shop.[29]

Reception[edit]

His work has been described as “spare and formally rigorous, often concerned with high-tech manufacturing processes,”[30] and as carrying a “signature elegance and simplicity.”[31]

Design critic Alice Rawsthorn, writing in the International Herald Tribune about Olivares’ book A Taxonomy of Office Chairs in 2011 observed: “You’ll never look at an office chair in quite the same way again.”[32]

Grants and Awards[edit]

Collections[edit]

Olivares’s work is held in the following museum collections:

Publications[edit]

  • Olivares, Jonathan. A Taxonomy of Office Chairs. London: Phaidon Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0714861036[39]
  • Morrison, J., Olivares, J., Velardi, M. Source Material. Weil am Rhein: Vitra Design Museum, 2015 ISBN 9783931936976[40]
  • Olivares, Jonathan. Richard Sapper. London: Phaidon Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0714871202[41]
  • Olivares, Jonathan. Jonathan Olivares Selected Works.[42] New York: PowerHouse Books, 2017. ISBN 978-1576878606[43]
  • A Life in Chairs with Industrial Designer Don Chadwick. Interview Magazine, 2018[44]
  • Olivares, Jonathan. Don Chadwick Photography 1961-2005. Barcelona: Apartamento Press, 2019. ISBN 978-84-09-11610-2[45]
  • Georgacopoulos, A., Olivares, J. The ECAL Manual of Style: How to best teach design today? London: Phaidon Press, 2022. ISBN 9781838665173[46]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b “Jonathan Olivares”. The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  2. ^ Rawsthorn, Alice (2011-04-24). “Taking a Zoological Approach to Chairs”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  3. ^ Viladas, Pilar (2018-04-12). “How ship masts inspired this LA-designer’s latest textile collection”. Curbed. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  4. ^ “Jonathan Olivares | Knoll”. www.knoll.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  5. ^ “Changes at the top for House Beautiful, Knoll’s new SVP and more”. Business of Home. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  6. ^ a b c d e Stratford, Oli (Summer 2018). “Eventually everything connects”. Disegno. 19: 90.
  7. ^ “Prattfolio Fall/Winter 2011 “Generations Issue”“. Issuu. p. 38. Retrieved 2021-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ “Jonathan Olivares and Dozie Kanu”. Pin–Up. 24: 103. Summer 2018.
  9. ^ a b c “Jonathan Olivares’s Twill Weave Collection for Kvadrat Conceptualizes Color”. SURFACE. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  10. ^ Lasky, Julie (2011-04-21). “For Young Hopefuls, Milan Offers a Place to Break In”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  11. ^ Suqi, Rima (2014-09-10). “Outdoor Heirlooms: Dining Tables”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  12. ^ Hudson, Jennifer (2010). Design for Small Spaces. London: Lawrence King. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-85669-661-6.
  13. ^ “Danese”. www.danesemilano.com. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  14. ^ Kim, Jong Jim (2007). Bodyscape. Seoul: Damdi. p. 96. ISBN 978-89-91111-27-1.
  15. ^ Wu, Su (April 2016). “Jonathan Olivares”. L’Uomo Vogue. 470: 151.
  16. ^ Hirst, Arlene (September 2007). “Store It”. Metropolitan Home: 41.
  17. ^ Moratti, Dario (2011). 2011 ADI Premio Compasso d’Oro. Mantova: Edizioni Corraini. p. 64. ISBN 978-88-7570-308-0.
  18. ^ Flaherty, Joe. “4 Years of Hard Work Yield a Comfy Metal Chair That’s Crazy Skinny”. Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  19. ^ a b Lange, Alexandra (19 September 2012). “A Chair for All Seasons”. Domus. Retrieved 3 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ Terragni, Emilia (2018). Chair: 500 designs that matter. London: Phaidon Press. p. 629. ISBN 978-0-7148-7610-8.
  21. ^ Morris, Ali (2015-06-18). “Fabricate this: ShopFloor software heralds a new era of mass customised furniture”. Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2021-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ “Aluminum Bench by Jonathan Olivares”. Disegno. 8: 199. Summer 2015.
  23. ^ a b c “From the City to the Spoon”. Domus. 985: 32. November 2014.
  24. ^ Taylor-Foster, James (2017-05-02). “In the Swedish City of Järfälla, Ten Radical “Superbenches” Are Unveiled as Community Incubators”. ArchDaily. Retrieved 2021-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ Quito, Anne (June 2018). “At All Scales.” Metropolis. p.26.
  26. ^ Khandekar, Narayan (2017). Collecting Colour. Arnhem, Netherlands: Art EZ Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-94-91444-48-7.
  27. ^ Peluso, Salvatore (14 May 2019). “Camper store is a tribute to 1930s New York”. www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2021-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ Burrichter, Felix (May 2019). “Interview: Jonathan Olivares on Designing His First Store at Rockefeller Center”. pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ Messina, Rab (16 May 2019). “How Can a Shoe Store Compete with the Bright Lights of Radio City Music Hall?”. Frame. Retrieved 2021-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ “10 Questions With… Jonathan Olivares”. Interior Design. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  31. ^ “Book Club: Jonathan Olivares – Selected Works”. pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  32. ^ Rawsthorn, Alice (2011-04-24). “Taking a Zoological Approach to Chairs”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  33. ^ “Graham Foundation > Grantees > Jonathan Olivares”. The Graham Foundation.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ “Premio Compasso d’oro 2011”, Wikipedia (in Italian), 2021-08-08, retrieved 2021-09-04
  35. ^ “Graham Foundation > Grantees > Jonathan Olivares”. www.grahamfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  36. ^ “Good Design 2012: Awarded Product Designs and Graphics and Packaging” (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  37. ^ “Introducing the #MetropolisLikes Award at NeoCon”. Metropolis. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  38. ^ “Jonathan Olivares”. collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  39. ^ “A Taxonomy of Office Chairs, Phaidon Press”. www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  40. ^ “Source Material”. www.design-museum.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  41. ^ “Richard Sapper, Edited by Jonathan Olivares, Phaidon Press”. www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  42. ^ “BOOK CLUB: JONATHAN OLIVARES – SELECTED WORKS”. archive.pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  43. ^ “Jonathan Olivares Selected Works, PowerHouse Books”. powerHouse Books. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  44. ^ Olivares, Jonathan (2018-12-19). “A Life in Chairs with Industrial Designer Don Chadwick”. Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  45. ^ “Don Chadwick Photography 1961–2005—Apartamento Publishing”. Apartamento Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  46. ^ “The ECAL Manual of Style, Phaidon Press”. www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  47. ^ “2×2: Jonathan Olivares with Kersten Geers and David Van Severen”. Harvard Graduate School of Design. Retrieved 2021-09-04.