How Comfort Breaks the American Home

Video Description

Want to restore the planet’s ecosystems and see your impact in monthly videos? The first 100 people to join Planet Wild with my code STEWART10 will get the first month for free at: https://planetwild.com/r/stewarthicks/join/10 If you want to get to know them better first, check out their project using sculptures to protect the ocean: https://planetwild.com/r/stewarthicks/m21/10 From Joey and Chandler’s recliners in Friends to Martin’s battered chair in Frasier, the La-Z-Boy is both furniture and cultural icon. But where did these chairs come from, and why did they define comfort in the American living room? This video looks at the long evolution of the recliner: from its origins in 1920s Michigan as a “scientific” health device, to its competition with the Eames Lounge Chair, to its inseparable partnership with the television. Along the way, we’ll see how La-Z-Boy shaped ideas of rest, health, and domestic life, while also becoming a symbol of America’s sedentary turn. Chairs are never just chairs. They tell us about technology, class, design, and how we expect to use our homes. And few tell that story as clearly as the La-Z-Boy. #Lazboy #DesignHistory #FurnitureDesign #FriendsTV #Frasier #EamesChair #Architecture #CulturalHistory Special Thanks Evan Montgomery: Producer Daniela Osorio Sanudo: Graphics/Research __Membership__ Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYAm24PkejQR2xMgJgn7xwg/join __About the Channel__ Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit. __About Me__ Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture. __Contact__ FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco Design With Company: https://designwith.co University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: https://arch.uic.edu/ __Attributions__ Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images, Storyblocks, and Shutterstock. Music provided by Epidemic Sound and includes music from Chromatic by Tom Fox https://www.youtube.com/@chromaticbytomfox" #architecture #urbandesign