Paul Evans Sculpted Bronze Conference

A designer and sculptor, Paul Evans was a wild card of late 20th century modernism. A leading light of the American Studio Furniture movement, Evans’s sideboards, credenzas, coffee tables and other work manifests a singular aesthetic sense, as well as a seemingly contradictory appreciation for both folk art forms and for new materials and technologies.

Evans’s primary material was metal, not wood, which was favored by his fellow studio designers, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, neighbors George Nakashima and Phillip Lloyd Powell. He trained in metallurgy and studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the famed crucible of modern design and art in suburban Detroit. For a time early in his career, Evans also worked at Sturbridge Village, a historical “living museum” in Massachusetts, where he gave demonstrations as a costumed silversmith.

Evans’s earliest work unites these influences. The pieces that made his reputation are known as “sculpted-front” cabinets: wood cases faced with box-like high-relief patinated steel mounts laid out in a grid pattern. Each mount contains a metal emblem, or glyph, and the effect is that of a brawny quilt.

Evans’s later work falls into three distinct style groups. His sculpted-bronze pieces, begun in the mid-1960s, show Evans at his most expressive. He employed a technique in which resin is hand-shaped, and later sprayed with a metal coating, allowing for artistic nuance in the making of chairs, tables and case pieces. Later in the decade and into the 1970s, Evans produced his Argente series for celebrated manufacturer Directional (​​a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere): consoles and other furniture forms that feature aluminum and pigment-infused metal surfaces welded into abstract organic forms and patterns.

Last, Evans's Cityscape design series — a milestone in the history of brutalist design — meshed perfectly with the sleek, “high tech” sensibility of the later ’70s. Evans constructed boxy forms and faced them with irregular mosaic patterns that mixed rectangular plaques of chromed steel, bronze or burlwood veneer. These, like all of Paul Evans’s designs, are both useful and eye-catching. But their appeal has another, more visceral quality: these pieces have clearly been touched by an artist’s hand.

Find a collection of authentic Paul Evans furniture today on 1stDibs.

Vintage, new and antique conference tables are key to designing functional offices, setting the tone through shape and materials.

The evolution of floor plans and office furniture such as desks or office chairs shows how the workplace has changed over the years. One trend in the 20th century was the open floor plan, which was pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright. The profoundly influential architect’s design for the 1936 office building for SC Johnson Wax was an early example. Soon, major American furniture manufacturers would take aim at creating furnishings for the workplace.

In 1942, Herman Miller, anticipating a postwar economic boom, began making office furniture for the first time, while at Knoll, a special office-focused division created by Florence Knoll in the mid-1940s designed office spaces for the likes of GM and CBS.

Open-floor-plan offices became mainstream by the mid-century as a way to reflect a company’s values. Working in an open space meant that employees were equal and the design was aimed at improving communication and cooperation. The conference table was key to this vision. Businesses with an open floor plan needed a place for meetings and this ensured that the conference table and conference room became staples of the modern office.

A round conference table is egalitarian and informal, getting people to participate and share ideas. A rectangular conference table is more structured, allowing executives to sit at the end of the table to conduct the meeting.

The style and color of the table are also important. A bold color can make participants feel more creative; a unique shape can evoke innovation and modernity. Creatives often invest in eye-catching furniture to express their company’s individuality.

A variety of conference tables can be found on 1stDibs, from postmodern conference tables for forward-looking businesses to new and custom options to make a conference room stand out.