Design Research (abbreviated and trademarked as D/R) was a retail store founded in 1953 by Ben Thompson in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and which introduced the concept of lifestyle store. In the 1970s under subsequent ownership, it became a chain of a dozen stores across the United States, and went bankrupt in 1979. Thompson's goal was to provide "a place where people could buy everything they needed for contemporary living",[1] notably modern European furnishings and in particular Scandinavian design.
Without question, D/R was the most influential force in twentieth-century America in creating an awareness and appreciation for modern design in the consumer world.
The genius of Ben Thompson was that he wasn't a retailer, so he didn't approach retailing in a conventional way at all... Eventually we took the whole idea and translated it into a reproducible formula.
Design Research was the exclusive US representative for the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko from 1959 to 1976.[7]Jacqueline Kennedy was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1960 in a Marimekko sundress purchased at D/R.[8]
This marvelous building... is conceived as a five-story glass showcase, faceted like the surface of a diamond. The facade is so transparent that the merchandise on display indoors becomes part of the architecture.
Robert Campbell architecture critic The Boston Globe[9]
In 1969, Thompson moved the original Cambridge store to a revolutionary new 24,000-square-foot (2,200m2) building designed by his firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates, at 48 Brattle Street in Harvard Square, on a block that came to be known as "Architects' Corner".[10] The 5-story building consists of flat concrete slabs supported by interior columns, and enclosed by frameless tempered glass walls.[11] The use of butted glass with no frame or mullions was unprecedented, and "allowed D/R to be a building almost 'without architecture'".[12]
It immediately received favorable reviews: "points the way to a method of glass building that could create a warmer city, adding color and light and optimism to the life of the streets".[13] The building won many awards over the years:[14]
From October 2009 to April 2010, the vacant Brattle Street store hosted a temporary installation of D/R goods, visible from the street.[18]
The building housed an Anthropologie store from August 2010[19] to January 2025.[20]
Corporate history
Design Research was started by the architect Ben Thompson in 1953.[citation needed] Spencer Field, a furniture designer, joined the firm as a 50-50 business partner in the early 1950s.[21] By 1966, it was clear that the company was underfinanced for Thompson's expansion plans, and he started looking for outside investors. The company was reorganized as a new corporate entity in 1967 and was recapitalized, with Field's interest being bought out in February 1968 by Peter J. Sprague, an entrepreneur and chairman of National Semiconductor, who became chairman.[citation needed]
In 1969, Sprague forced Thompson out as director of the company, but Thompson remained a stockholder.[citation needed] Under a succession of presidents, D/R opened more new stores, but Thompson felt that they had lost their distinctive style and approach.[citation needed] By 1976, the business was deteriorating, and in 1979 it declared bankruptcy. Rights to the names "Design Research" and "D/R" were bought jointly by Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn.[22]
Walter J. Salmon, "Design Research, Inc.", Harvard Business School Case 578-203 (not seen)
Thompson, Jane; Lange, Alexandra (2010). Design Research: the store that brought modern living to American homes. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN0-8118-6818-4.
1 2 Rob Forbes, "Foreword: Who's Your Daddy?" in Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange, Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes, 2010 ISBN0-8118-6818-4, p. 7 excerpt available
1 2 Suzanne Slesin, "Design/ Research Store Starts Its Final Sale", The New York TimesJune 1, 1979
↑ Carole Nicksin, "The Legacy of Design Research: The impact of the long-defunct retailer is still being felt within the home furnishings industry", HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, November 8, 2004 full text
↑ Rachel Travers, "Through a glass, brightly", The Boston Globe, October 29, 2009.
↑ Sports Illustrated, December 26, 1960; in Marianne Aav, Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, 2003, ISBN030010183X, p. 162
↑ Robert Campbell, "Two urban drawing cards are now in limbo: Challenges ahead for Faneuil Hall Marketplace and a glass icon in Cambridge", The Boston Globe, December 21, 2008 full text
↑ "Architects' Corner", Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia
↑ "25-Year Award to Design Research Headquarters", ArchitectureWeekfull text
↑ Tom Green, as quoted in Mark Pasnik, Michael Kubo, Chris Grimley, Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston, 2015, ISBN1580934242, p. 188
↑ Architectural Record as quoted in Gavin W. Kleespies and Katie MacDonald (Cambridge Historical Society), "Design Research Building" in Harvard Square Business Association ArchivesArchived 2010-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
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