The PrairieMod Squad is back in Chicago after a day chock full of amazing experiences at the Meyer May House Centennial Symposium, hosted by Steelcase. As part of the event, we enjoyed listening to riveting dialogue between panelists and watching some great short films about Wright and his legacy. We also learned something new about our hosts and the innovations that they are involved in. Learn more after the jump...
The day started at the break of dawn as we got our coffee and met-up in the lobby of the hotel to go and tour the reason for the celebration: The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meyer May House. We arrived and received a very informative tour from Don Dekker, Manager of the Meyer May House. Don showed us around and gave us some really great info about the history of the house, its relationship with both the neighborhood and the people who lived within it.
As you can see from the photos, this house is truly a gem of Prairie School architecture. The level of commitment to its preservation and making it accessible to the public by the Steelcase company is superlative. I would highly recommend a trip to Grand Rapids to see this amazing house the very next chance you get!
After the house tour, we made a pit stop for a little breakfast and then it was off to "Steelcase University", site of the Symposium and also the innovative center which showcases new product. We got a tour of both the space and cutting edge products from James Ludwig, Vice President of Design.
As you can see from the photos, the preconception we had of Steelcase just being the company that makes cubicle parts was grossly un-informed. Steelcase has embraced the ideas of both "Design Thinking" and "Cradle to Cradle" in order to be a corporate leader of sustainable design in the 21st century. They've committed themselves to focusing on human-centric design, broadening the horizons of what a work environment means and exceeding what beautiful and useful sustainable products can be. Needless to say, we were very, very impressed.
After the various tours and a delicious lunch, it was time to head over to the Meyer May Symposium. We found some comfortable lounge chairs to sit in and enjoyed the next couple of hours of the event. We watched a screening of a 1959 Hugh Downs interview with Frank Lloyd Wright, listened to an extremely engaging discussion with the Symposium panelists and then finished by watching a screening of the film "A Woman is a Fellow Here" about the unsung women that worked with Wright over the years. The dialogue, led by panel moderator Susan Szenasy of Metropolis Magazine, was especially of interest to us. Panelists Bob Adams, Jeffrey Bernett, Shashi Caan, Dr. Andrew Dent, Toshiko Mori, Kristie Strasen and Michael Van Valkenburgh discussed the past, present and continuing relevance of the Principles embodied in Frank Lloyd Wright's work.
At the end of the event, we joined the panelists and our Steelcase hosts for some refreshments and additional conversation. It was the perfect conclusion to a very exciting experience—one we will continue to think and talk about for some time to come. Our sincerest thanks to the Steelcase company (and specifically Jeanine Holquist and Laura Muyskens) for their hospitality during the event. For more information and to participate online with the Meyer May Symposium, follow the link. If anyone who attended the event would like to share their thoughts, please feel free to do so in the comments section below.
Meyer May House images copyright Steelcase/All other photos copyright PrairieMod™
The Symposium was awesome! I was glad I was finally able to meet the PrairieMod team in person!
Posted by: Eric Hughes, Image Design, LLC | Sep 11, 2009 at 05:58 AM
We enjoyed meeting you too! Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Eric | Sep 11, 2009 at 09:56 AM
OMG, I can hardly contain myself. JEALOUS!!!
Posted by: Martrese | Sep 11, 2009 at 07:34 PM