Designer · USA · 1905–1990
George Nakashima
George Nakashima (1905–1990) – American architect, designer and cabinetmaker of Japanese descent, known for solid-slab furniture with natural edges.
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About the designer
- Lifetime
- 1905–1990
- Country
- USA
George Katsutoshi Nakashima was born on 24 May 1905 in Spokane and died on 15 June 1990 in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He studied forestry and architecture at the University of Washington (1929) and MIT (1931). He worked in Paris and Japan, among other places, for the architect Antonin Raymond; in 1937, he supervised the construction of the Golconde dormitory in Puducherry, India.
In 1940, he began making furniture in Seattle. During the Second World War, he was interned at the Minidoka camp, where he became familiar with traditional Japanese woodworking techniques. From 1943, he ran a workshop in New Hope; he collaborated with, among others, Knoll and Widdicomb-Mueller. In 1973, he designed 200 pieces of furniture for Nelson Rockefeller’s home. His furniture is characterised by solid slabs with natural edges, often joined with butterfly-shaped connectors.
