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Section and elevations for the Herman Miller Factory, Bath, UK

Design
August 1975 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is an architectural section and elevation drawing for a factory near Bath (U.K.) designed by Nicholas Grimshaw in partnership with Terry Farrell for Herman Miller, the American manufacturer of office furniture and equipment. The factory was a important landmark in industrial architecture because the concept paid particular attention to providing amenities for employees in addition to taking into account the client's need for flexibility. Its rural setting on the River Avon at Bath was carefully considered when designing a building for this sensitive context.

The structure of the building was based around a simple primary and secondary beam system with columns on a 10x20 metre grid. The height of the edifice enabled it to be used for storing pallets as well as accomodating manufacturing processes. The cladding system was designed so as to be completely demountable, enabling the panels and glazing to be interchanged by unskilled labour to allow the staff to alter the building to suit changing needs.

Many of Herman Miller's products are designed to be ecologically sound, and the design of this building made attempts to reflect this. Energy conservation was a prime consideration throughout Grimshaw's design process and the low wall/floor ratio of 1:30 combined with insulation contributed to the low running costs.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleSection and elevations for the Herman Miller Factory, Bath, UK (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Coloured ink pen
Brief description
Section and elevations for the Herman Miller Factory, Bath, UK; by Farrell & Grimshaw Partnership; August 1975.
Physical description
Section B-B and East and West elevations for the Herman Miller Factory, Bath, UK
Dimensions
  • Height: 59.4cm
  • Width: 84.2cm
Production typeDesign
Credit line
Given by Grimshaw
Object history
Part of the Collection of Architectural designs by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw &Partners Limited.
Gift of Sir Nicholas Grimshaw.
Subject depicted
Summary
This is an architectural section and elevation drawing for a factory near Bath (U.K.) designed by Nicholas Grimshaw in partnership with Terry Farrell for Herman Miller, the American manufacturer of office furniture and equipment. The factory was a important landmark in industrial architecture because the concept paid particular attention to providing amenities for employees in addition to taking into account the client's need for flexibility. Its rural setting on the River Avon at Bath was carefully considered when designing a building for this sensitive context.

The structure of the building was based around a simple primary and secondary beam system with columns on a 10x20 metre grid. The height of the edifice enabled it to be used for storing pallets as well as accomodating manufacturing processes. The cladding system was designed so as to be completely demountable, enabling the panels and glazing to be interchanged by unskilled labour to allow the staff to alter the building to suit changing needs.

Many of Herman Miller's products are designed to be ecologically sound, and the design of this building made attempts to reflect this. Energy conservation was a prime consideration throughout Grimshaw's design process and the low wall/floor ratio of 1:30 combined with insulation contributed to the low running costs.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
E.3086-2004

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Record createdMay 5, 2009
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