Davis Allen

American interior designer and furniture designer

For the American football player, see Davis Allen (American football).

A request that this article title be changed to Davis Allen (designer) is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed.

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Davis Allen

Born| (1916-07-13)July 13, 1916

Ames, Iowa, United States

Died| May 13, 1999(1999-05-13) (aged 81)

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Alma mater| Brown University
National Swedish Institute for Building Research
Yale School of Architecture
Occupation(s)| Architect
Interior designer
Furniture designer

Davis Allen (July 13, 1916 – May 13, 1999) was an American interior designer and furniture designer. He was noted as a pioneer in the design of interior corporate environments and had a forty-year tenure at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.[1]

## Life and career

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Allen was born in Ames, Iowa and then lived in Illinois. He was educated at Brown University, the National Swedish Institute for Building Research, in Stockholm, and then the Yale School of Architecture. He served in the US Army during World War II.[1][2]

After first working with the architectural firm of Harrison & Abramovitz, he moved to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1950. He became a partner in 1965, and remained at SOM until his retirement in 1990.[1]

In 1983 he designed the "Andover" chair for Stendig International.[3] After Stendig went out of business, his design was reintroduced in 1993 as the "Exeter" chair by the Knoll furniture company.[4] He also designed furniture for Steelcase, GF, Stow Davis, Bernhardt, and Hickory Business Furniture.[4]

David Rowland, the designer of the 40/4 chair, gives credit to Allen, who "liked the design and immediately" and "put me in touch with GF", the chair's eventual manufacturer.[5][6]

In 1985, Allen was inducted into the Interior Design Magazine Hall Of Fame.[2][7][1]

## Publications

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* Slavin, Maeve (1990). Davis Allen: 40 Years of Interior Design at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 9780847812554.

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Pace, Eric (May 23, 1999). "Davis Allen, 82, a Designer Of Modern Business Interiors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
2. ^ a b "Davis B. Allen: 1985 Hall of Fame Inductee". Interior Design. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
3. ^ Slesin, Suzanne (January 19, 1984). "HOME BEAT". Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018 - via NYTimes.com.
4. ^ a b "Davis Allen | Knoll". Knoll Inc. Archived from the original on 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
5. ^ "Re/Wind: David Rowland's Howe 40/4". livingedge.com.au. Archived from the original on 2023-12-10. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
6. ^ Von, Robinson (December 2004). "99% Perspiration". Metropolis: 149.
7. ^ "Interior Design | Hall of Fame Designer – Mr. Davis Allen". Archived from the original on 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2008-11-26.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

Artists|

* ULAN
* 2

Other|

* SNAC