The Last Decade

Punctuated by war, student protests, riots, and assassinations, 1968 was a tumultuous year of social and political upheaval across the world. Although the shifts were less charged and less controversial, this significant sense of disruption extended to Herman Miller, the Michigan-based furniture company and longtime partner of the Eames Office. After establishing itself as a preeminent purveyor of modern home furnishings, 1968 saw the company completely reorienting itself to address a new arena of business opportunity: the office. With the introduction of Action Office 2 (AO2), a modular, panel-based system developed by inventor Robert Propst, Herman Miller catapulted fully into the office sales market and spawned the contract furniture industry as we know it today.

The notion of selling large quantities of furniture in contexts outside of the home and instead in environments like offices, schools, and hospitals first occurred to Herman Miller leadership in the mid-1950s. With the postwar housing boom finally softening by mid-decade, demand for products like the Eameses’ molded plywood furniture, Isamu Noguchi’s coffee tables, and George Nelson’s case goods declined. In the years that followed, the company explored a multitude of potential avenues to diversify its business in order to survive: international expansion, interior design services modeled on Florence Knoll’s Planning Unit, a special product division to develop designs in concert with architectural commissions, a specialty Textile & Objects shop, and a research division led by Propst that looked at everything from laser-guided cattle branding to feminine hygiene products. All the while, the company gained traction in the educational market and strengthened its position in institutional sales with the Eameses newly patented stacking and ganging DSS chairs. Sales of Eames chairs were booming, but leadership’s desire to diversify and achieve sustainable growth remained.