15 Herman Miller Projects That Have Changed Our Way of Living

In 1967, Hugh De Pree, the CEO of Herman Miller starting in 1962, attended a conference in Chicago on the growing popularity in Europe of open plan offices. As an attempt to fill the large, open floorplates that were becoming increasingly common in American workplaces, a system of panel-hung components—shelves, files, and desks—was developed in which the panels themselves formed short, solid walls that kept workspaces open but semi-private. The system was both economic in terms of space-saving, and also provided vertical space for hanging documents or storage. What's more, the system was modular, mobile, and relatively inexpensive—and ultimately changed the entire industry of office furniture in the United States. (Comprehensive Panel System designed by George Nelson, 1967.)