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Friday Five with Marc Thorpe

Marc Thorpe is a New York-based architect and industrial designer who founded Marc Thorpe Design in 2006. Bridging architecture, design, and technology, Thorpe’s innovative works, including his recent, exclusive exhibition Blurred Limits at Moroso, proves his dynamic ability to think outside the box. The firm covers everything from architecture, interior design, graphic design, furniture and product design, to digital media for brands like Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Target, Bernhardt Design, Yahoo, and Infiniti, just to name a few. Let’s see what makes him tick in this week’s Friday Five.

Copyright Tim Scott/Fluid Images

Copyright Tim Scott/Fluid Images

1. Lamborghini Countach LP 400 / 1975
My father bought me a scale model of this car when I was very young. It inspired my understanding of architecture and design. The Bertone design was the most forward thinking, progressive and aggressive utilization of technology, engineering, and form at the time. I believe design has a responsibility to challenge the status quo. We as designers must push harder.

F5-Marc-Thorpe-2-Joy-Division_Unknown-Pleasures

2. Joy Division “Unknown Pleasures” / 1979
Arguably one of the greatest albums ever produced. The complexity and layering of sound through technology takes Unknown Pleasures into the realm of mastery. Highly progressive and conceptually innovative for its time, Joy Division invented the sound of the 1980s.

3. Venini Glass – Murano, Italy
On my mother’s side of the family, my great grand uncle Paolo Venini started the Venini Glass company in 1921. The work of Paolo along with the world’s greatest architects and designers over the past 90 years have inspired my love and passion for Italian design. I find myself very much at home in Italy and love working there.

Courtesy of Hindsvik

Courtesy of Hindsvik

4. Solair Chair / 1972
The Solair Chair was designed in 1972 by Fabio Fabiano and Michelange Panzini.
Fabio was my professor of graphic and industrial design. I worked with him intensively at the university as well as in his studio. To him, I owe much of my design education, training, and professional practice. The Solair chair is an icon of design, pure in form, functional in use, and forever beautiful.

Photo by Julius Shulman

Photo by Julius Shulman

5. Case Study House 21
Designed by Pierre Koenig in 1959 for the Case Study House Program in Los Angeles. For me this house is the essence of how architecture can fulfill social needs for housing with minimal materials, cost, and simple yet elegant spaces. The project is inspirational to me as a reminder that tomorrow should be less and that quality should always reign over quantity.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.