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“A Classic is something you look at often and always accept as it is.”

Warren Platner
A
Designer's
Story
Born June 18, 1919 Platner was an American architect and interior designer. He also produced a furniture collection that has proved to be a continuing icon of 1960s modernism.
Read Full Bio
biography
Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Platner studied architecture at Cornell University. Following his graduation in 1941, he worked in the offices of legendary designers Eero Saarinen and I.M. Pei. His career began with work in some of the most prominent and remarkable architecture practices in the country.

In 1967, he opened his own design studio Warren Platner Associates, in New Haven, Connecticut. It quickly became a significant design firm, creating furniture, lighting and textiles, as well as residential and commercial interiors.

Platner received the Rome Prize in architecture in 1955, and was inducted into Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame in 1985.

He died in 2006, aged 86, in Guilford where he resided.
Warren Platner in his office.
Image from annehepfer.com.
In 1966, Platner captured the “decorative, gentle, graceful” shapes that were beginning to infiltrate the modern vocabulary. He created The Arm Chair, which can be used as a dining chair or guest chair. 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.

Introduced by Knoll, the Platner Collection has been in continuous production ever since.
In 1966, Platner captured the “decorative, gentle, graceful” shapes that were beginning to infiltrate the modern vocabulary. He created The Arm Chair, which can be used as a dining chair or guest chair. 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.

Introduced by Knoll, the Platner Collection has been in continuous production ever since.
“designers who began to make their talents
visible in the 1960s, Warren Platner was
among the less flamboyant. Nevertheless,
he earned himself an international
reputation for elegant understatement.”
dwr.com
“designers who began to
make their talents visible in
the 1960s, Warren Platner was
among the less flamboyant.
Nevertheless, he earned
himself an international
reputation for elegant
understatement.”
dwr.com
The American Restaurant in Kansas City, USA.
Image from dwell.com.
The american restaurant
kansas city, u.s.
The american restaurant
kansas city, u.s.
"Easily the most elegant room in the city with the most spectacular downtown view. It is a soaring multitiered space with fanned-out bent-oak shutters and ceiling fixtures, well-spaced tables and big circular booths, live piano and splashy flower arrangements."
"Easily the most elegant room in the city with the most spectacular downtown view. It is a soaring multitiered space with fanned-out bent-oak shutters and ceiling fixtures, well-spaced tables and big circular booths, live piano and splashy flower arrangements."
Atrium garden in the Ford Foundation Building.
Image from nytimes.com.
the ford foundation
NEW YORK City, U.S.
the ford foundation
NEW YORK City, U.S.
Platner won acclaim for the interior design of the Ford Foundation headquarters, using a muted color scheme to create warmth within the soaring steel, granite and glass building. In a 1967 review by Huxtable, she claimed the interiors “a virtual hothouse of suave, standardized elegance”.
Platner won acclaim for the interior design of the Ford Foundation headquarters, using a muted color scheme to create warmth within the soaring steel, granite and glass building. In a 1967 review by Huxtable, she claimed the interiors “a virtual hothouse of suave, standardized elegance”.
Windows on the World, in New York City.
Image by Ezra Stoller.
Windows on the world
NEW YORK City, U.S.
Windows on the world
NEW YORK City, U.S.
Windows on the World was Platner at his best; the Architectural Record noted that "each square inch of the one-acre space received the most careful design attention - in the creation of scores of very special places, and in the execution of the rich and elegant detail. Windows on the World is, in a word, masterful".
Windows on the World was Platner at his best; the Architectural Record noted that "each square inch of the one-acre space received the most careful design attention - in the creation of scores of very special places, and in the execution of the rich and elegant detail. Windows on the World is, in a word, masterful".
“worthwhile to pay attention to a very simple object.”
Elevator lobby in Windows on the World
Elevator lobby of Windows on the World in New York City, U.S..
Image from designobserver.com.
Windows on the World in New York, USA.
Windows on the World in New York City, U.S.
Image from designobserver.com.
Gold Platner chairs in The Avalon Hotel in Beverley Hills.
Gold Platner chairs in The Avalon Hotel in Beverley Hills.
Image from annehepfer.com.
Interior of Water Tower Place, Chicago.
Interior of Water Tower Place, Chicago.
Image from vertoe.com.
“Because he didn't stick to the browns and
blacks and tasteful grids of his employers
and peers, this heir of Saarinen wasn't easy
to pigeonhole and was duly accused of
MODERNIST APOSTASY.”
dwell.com
“Because he didn't stick to
the browns and blacks and
TASTEFUL GRIDS OF HIS
employers and peers, this
heir of Saarinen wasn't easy
to pigeonhole and was duly
accused of MODERNIST
APOSTASY.”
dwell.com
“The Ground Floor”, by C. H. McBride.
Esquire, March 1, 1966.
The GROUND FLOOR
NEW YORK City, U.S.
The GROUND FLOOR
NEW YORK City, U.S.
In 1965, Platner designed the The Ground Floor restaurant in the CBS Building. His idea was to have it look like it was in the CBS building, where the same exterior granite-clad piers were continued inside.

Several critics weren’t entirely impressed, “Like eating in a coal cellar,” said one critic. One architectural photographer said, “The understatement is overdone.” Progressive Architecture was dubious: “For formal dining, black granite?”.
In 1965, Platner designed the The Ground Floor restaurant in the CBS Building. His idea was to have it look like it was in the CBS building, where the same exterior granite-clad piers were continued inside.

Several critics weren’t entirely impressed, “Like eating in a coal cellar,” said one critic. One architectural photographer said, “The understatement is overdone.” Progressive Architecture was dubious: “For formal dining, black granite?”.
Fantasia’s Motorists’ Lounge, 1990.
Image from hhvferry.com.
Fantasia’s Speedy Gourmet area, 1992.
Image from hhvferry.com.
Fantasia and fiesta ferries
Fantasia and fiesta ferries
The pastel interior of the ferries is just plain awful. When Platner revealed details of the interior decor for the Fantasia and Fiesta project to James Sherwood, President and founder of Sea Containers. Sherwood, apparently unimpressed, and demanded significant redesigns. Knowing his client well however, Platner did nothing, simply reproducing the same schemes at a later date.
The pastel interior of the ferries is just plain awful. When Platner revealed details of the interior decor for the Fantasia and Fiesta project to James Sherwood, President and founder of Sea Containers. Sherwood, apparently unimpressed, and demanded significant redesigns. Knowing his client well however, Platner did nothing, simply reproducing the same schemes at a later date.

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“Flight” sculpture at the Pan Am Building lobby in 1963.
Image from “Richard Lippold Sculpture”, 52.
Pan am building
NEW YORK City, U.S.
Pan am building
NEW YORK City, U.S.
In 1987, Platner was commissioned to renovate the lobby of the Pan Am Building. The Egyptian theme adopted to enhance the space was widely perceived as both incongruous and inappropriate. Some even dismissed the refurbishment as "ghastly and garish". Comments from the press weren’t so kind, either: "a poor performance, even by Platner standards, with a striving for effect stretched even to the details. No music here; even Liberace would have blushed at the vulgarity".

Meredith Clausen wrote a book that claims the building as a symbol of modernism's fall from grace. The book is called The Pan Am Building and the Shattering of the Modernist Dream.
In 1987, Platner was commissioned to renovate the lobby of the Pan Am Building. The Egyptian theme adopted to enhance the space was widely perceived as both incongruous and inappropriate. Some even dismissed the refurbishment as "ghastly and garish". Comments from the press weren’t so kind, either: "a poor performance, even by Platner standards, with a striving for effect stretched even to the details. No music here; even Liberace would have blushed at the vulgarity".

Meredith Clausen wrote a book that claims the building as a symbol of modernism's fall from grace. The book is called The Pan Am Building and the Shattering of the Modernist Dream.
“the Shattering of the Modernist Dream.”
Motorists' Haven, Fantasia.
Motorists' Haven, Fantasia.
Image from hhvferry.com.
Pan Am Building (Now MetLife) lobby (1987).
Pan Am Building (Now MetLife) lobby (1987).
Image from thecityreview.com.
The Gound Floor restaurant (1965).
The Gound Floor restaurant (1965).
Image from designobserver.com.
Interior at Sea Containers House.
Interior at Sea Containers House.
Image from lassco.co.uk.
“sensuous
modernism.”
“It is lacking to ignore interiors, because after all, what’s the building for?”
“It is lacking to ignore interiors, because after all, what’s the building for?”
Platner’s house in Guilford, Connecticut.
Image from dwell.com.
Living room in Platner’s home.
Image from dwell.com.
Gold features in Platner’s dining room.
Image from dwell.com.
50th Anniversary Platner Collection by Knoll.
Image from knoll.com.
Platner’s furnitures featured in Marvel’s TV series “Luke Cage”.
Image from filmandfurniture.com.
Warren Platner appeared on a TV interview in 1981.
“an enduring icon of 1960s Modernism.”
The New York Times
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