Dezeen Magazine

Charles Pollock 1930-2013

News: furniture designer Charles Pollock has died in a house fire in New York, aged 83.

A fire ripped through the house on Tuesday morning and Pollock died at the scene, according to reports from NY Daily NewsABC News visited the house and spoke to friends of the designer about his life and work.

Executive Office Chair by Charles Pollock for Knoll
Executive Chair by Charles Pollock for Knoll

Pollock's Executive Chair, which he designed for Knoll in 1963, has become an iconic symbol of mid-20th century workplaces. The swivel chair, set on a five-star base with rolling wheels, features buttoned upholstery and "rim technology" - the use of a single aluminium band around the edge of the seat.

Fifty years after its original design, Pollock's chair is still in production and has been exhibited around the world, including at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre in Paris.

CP Lounge Chairs by Charles Pollock for Benhardt
CP Lounge Chairs by Charles Pollock for Benhardt

Pollock, who studied design at New York's Pratt Institute, went on to work with designers such as George Nelson at Herman Miller.

Charles Pollock was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1930. He moved to Toledo, Ohio, before settling in Detroit, Michigan. Pratt Institute in New York, where the designer studied, awarded Pollock with its 1991 Excellence by Design Award.

In 2012, Bernhardt Design commissioned Pollock to design a new collection of lounge chairs, which he sits on in the main image.

Photographs from Knoll and Bernhardt design.