Eliot Noyes
Encyclopedia
Eliot Fette Noyes was a Harvard
-trained American architect and industrial designer, who worked on projects for IBM
, most famously the IBM Selectric typewriter and the IBM Aerospace Research Center in Los Angeles, California
. Noyes was also a pioneer in development of comprehensive corporate-wide design programs that integrated design strategy and business strategy. Examples of his work are IBM, Mobil Oil, Cummins Engine and Westinghouse.
, Massachusetts
. Shortly after his birth, Noyes moved to Colorado
where he resided until age seven. At this point, Noyes and his family moved to Cambridge
, Massachusetts
. Noyes’ father taught English at Harvard and his mother was an accomplished pianist. He was not always set on architecture. As a teen, he seriously contemplated becoming a painter; however by age 19 he had his mind set on architecture. He first enrolled at Harvard University
in 1932 to obtain a bachelor’s degree in the Classics, and then later in 1938 he received his architecture degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design
. Noyes’ experience at Harvard was unlike the other four members of Harvard Five
. When he arrived at Harvard, the school was still under the influence of the Beaux-Arts architecture movement – hardly the modernist influence that the other four received. However, after meeting Le Corbusier
in the school library, his architectural outlook changed entirely. He was so inspired by Le Corbusier’s work that Noyes researched the Bauhaus
and even had thoughts of transferring to Dessau
. Reality of the situation prevented the bold move, though, and he chose (unhappily) to stay at Harvard for the time being. His opportunity soon came in his junior year at Harvard after traveling to Iran
for an archaeological expedition. Upon returning to the school, Noyes found that Harvard had undergone a complete revolution. Gropius and Breuer had already arrived there, and with them came a new modernist spirit at the school.
While at Harvard, Noyes was also a member of the Harvard soaring club and flew the club's new Schweizer Aircraft
-built SGU1-7 glider.
and Marcel Breuer’s firm in Cambridge (MA). 1939-1946 Noyes was employed by the Museum of Modern Art
in New York City as director of industrial design. This job was interrupted during World War II
to set up a glider program. He also served as an industrial designer for Norman Bel Geddes
and Co.
(1955). One of his most notable designs was the Wilton Library (1974) in the neighboring town of Wilton, CT.
Noyes spent twenty-one years working as consultant design director for IBM, designing the IBM Selectric typewriter
in 1961 and numerous other products, while also advising the IBM internal design staff. Prior to his work on the Selectric, Noyes was commissioned in 1956 by Thomas J. Watson, Jr to create IBM's first corporate-wide design program — indeed, these influential efforts, in which Noyes collaborated with Paul Rand
and Charles Eames, have been referred to as the first comprehensive design program in American business. Noyes was commissioned regularly by IBM to design various products as well as buildings for the corporation. His most famous and well known of these buildings are the IBM building in Garden City, NY (1966), the IBM Aerospace Building in Los Angeles, CA (1964), The IBM Pavilion Hemisfair in San Antonio, TX (1968) and the IBM Management Development Center in Armonk, NY (1980). Noyes also selected other notable architects such as Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen
, Marco Zanuso
and Marcel Breuer
to design IBM buildings around the world.
Noyes also redesigned the standard look for all Mobil
gasoline stations during the 1960s (and hired the graphic design firm Chermayeff & Geismar
to redesign the Mobil logo). His New Canaan, Connecticut
residence is regarded as an important piece of Modernist
architecture.
A long time glider pilot, after an arson fire destroyed the old National Soaring Museum (NSM) on Harris Hill, in Elmira, New York, Noyes designed the new NSM building, gratis.
, and in the 1940s was instrumental in promoting the early work of Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen
as curator of industrial design at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York. An instance of this was the MoMA competition Organic Design in Home Furnishings, which was published in a book by the museum.
Noyes believed that each region of the United States has buildings inspired by the climate. He was a strong advocate of functional Modernism and his work was firmly grounded in the tradition of Gropius, Breuer & Le Corbusier. He advocated simplicity of form and truth to the nature of materials which is seen particularly in his houses. He was responsible for many residential and commercial archetypes alike. Likewise, Noyes' corporate design program philosophy was to ensure that design expressed the true leadership essence of the company and embodied technology in a new and appropriate ways. His approach went far beyond a typical corporate identity
project. Achieving harmony
between design strategy
and business strategy was the hallmark of Noyes' work with IBM, and other companies that followed. From creating the IBM design program to leading ground-breaking residential design in New Cannan, Noyes has become a leading image of post-war American architecture, industrial design and design management.
The Harvard Graduate School of Design
has a named chair in his honor.
"One thing I am not going to become is a guy who is called in to change the expression on the corporate face by hanging abstract paintings on the office walls."
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
-trained American architect and industrial designer, who worked on projects for IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, most famously the IBM Selectric typewriter and the IBM Aerospace Research Center in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Noyes was also a pioneer in development of comprehensive corporate-wide design programs that integrated design strategy and business strategy. Examples of his work are IBM, Mobil Oil, Cummins Engine and Westinghouse.
Early life
Eliot Noyes was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Shortly after his birth, Noyes moved to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
where he resided until age seven. At this point, Noyes and his family moved to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Noyes’ father taught English at Harvard and his mother was an accomplished pianist. He was not always set on architecture. As a teen, he seriously contemplated becoming a painter; however by age 19 he had his mind set on architecture. He first enrolled at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1932 to obtain a bachelor’s degree in the Classics, and then later in 1938 he received his architecture degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design
Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
. Noyes’ experience at Harvard was unlike the other four members of Harvard Five
Harvard Five
The Harvard Five was a group of architects that settled in New Canaan, Connecticut in the 1940s: John M. Johansen, Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, Philip Johnson and Eliot Noyes...
. When he arrived at Harvard, the school was still under the influence of the Beaux-Arts architecture movement – hardly the modernist influence that the other four received. However, after meeting Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
in the school library, his architectural outlook changed entirely. He was so inspired by Le Corbusier’s work that Noyes researched the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
and even had thoughts of transferring to Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
. Reality of the situation prevented the bold move, though, and he chose (unhappily) to stay at Harvard for the time being. His opportunity soon came in his junior year at Harvard after traveling to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
for an archaeological expedition. Upon returning to the school, Noyes found that Harvard had undergone a complete revolution. Gropius and Breuer had already arrived there, and with them came a new modernist spirit at the school.
While at Harvard, Noyes was also a member of the Harvard soaring club and flew the club's new Schweizer Aircraft
Schweizer Aircraft
The Schweizer Aircraft Corporation is a manufacturer of sailplanes, agricultural aircraft and helicopters located in Horseheads, New York. It was incorporated in 1939 by three Schweizer brothers , who built their first glider in 1930...
-built SGU1-7 glider.
Career
After graduating with his masters in architecture in 1938, Noyes joined Walter GropiusWalter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
and Marcel Breuer’s firm in Cambridge (MA). 1939-1946 Noyes was employed by the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York City as director of industrial design. This job was interrupted during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to set up a glider program. He also served as an industrial designer for Norman Bel Geddes
Norman Bel Geddes
Norman Melancton Bel Geddes was an American theatrical and industrial designer who focused on aerodynamics....
and Co.
Works
Noyes' first house built in New Canaan was the Tallman House, built in 1950, followed in the same year by the Bremer House. Residing in New Canaan for 30 years, He designed more residential buildings including the Ault House (1951), the Weeks House (1953), and the Noyes HouseNoyes House (New Canaan, Connecticut)
The Noyes House in New Canaan, Connecticut is an International Style architecture house built in 1955. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Included in the NRHP listing are two contributing buildings and two other contributing structures. Design and/or building...
(1955). One of his most notable designs was the Wilton Library (1974) in the neighboring town of Wilton, CT.
IBM Selectric typewriter
The IBM Selectric typewriter was a highly successful model line of electric typewriters introduced by IBM on July 31, 1961.Instead of the "basket" of individual typebars that swung up to strike the ribbon and page in a traditional typewriter, the Selectric had a type element that rotated and...
in 1961 and numerous other products, while also advising the IBM internal design staff. Prior to his work on the Selectric, Noyes was commissioned in 1956 by Thomas J. Watson, Jr to create IBM's first corporate-wide design program — indeed, these influential efforts, in which Noyes collaborated with Paul Rand
Paul Rand
Paul Rand Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum, (August 15, 1914 — November 26, 1996) was an American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs, including the logos for IBM, UPS, Enron, Westinghouse, ABC, and Steve Jobs’ NeXT...
and Charles Eames, have been referred to as the first comprehensive design program in American business. Noyes was commissioned regularly by IBM to design various products as well as buildings for the corporation. His most famous and well known of these buildings are the IBM building in Garden City, NY (1966), the IBM Aerospace Building in Los Angeles, CA (1964), The IBM Pavilion Hemisfair in San Antonio, TX (1968) and the IBM Management Development Center in Armonk, NY (1980). Noyes also selected other notable architects such as Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
, Marco Zanuso
Marco Zanuso
-The early years:Marco Zanuso was born in Milano May 14, 1916.He was one of a group of Italian designers from Milan shaping the international idea of "good design" in the postwar years. Trained in architecture at the Politecnico di Milano university, he opened his own design office in 1945...
and Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
to design IBM buildings around the world.
Noyes also redesigned the standard look for all Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
gasoline stations during the 1960s (and hired the graphic design firm Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar...
to redesign the Mobil logo). His New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
residence is regarded as an important piece of Modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
architecture.
A long time glider pilot, after an arson fire destroyed the old National Soaring Museum (NSM) on Harris Hill, in Elmira, New York, Noyes designed the new NSM building, gratis.
Design philosophy
Noyes was notable among architects of the 20th century modern period in American architectural history. (1910—1997) He was a member of the Harvard Five, a group of distinct modern architects who practiced in the quaint town of New Canaan, CT. Noyes began his career working for Walter GropiusWalter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
, and in the 1940s was instrumental in promoting the early work of Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
as curator of industrial design at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York. An instance of this was the MoMA competition Organic Design in Home Furnishings, which was published in a book by the museum.
Noyes believed that each region of the United States has buildings inspired by the climate. He was a strong advocate of functional Modernism and his work was firmly grounded in the tradition of Gropius, Breuer & Le Corbusier. He advocated simplicity of form and truth to the nature of materials which is seen particularly in his houses. He was responsible for many residential and commercial archetypes alike. Likewise, Noyes' corporate design program philosophy was to ensure that design expressed the true leadership essence of the company and embodied technology in a new and appropriate ways. His approach went far beyond a typical corporate identity
Corporate identity
In Corporate Communications, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives...
project. Achieving harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
between design strategy
Design strategy
Design strategy is a discipline which helps firms determine what to make and do, why do it and how to innovate contextually, both immediately and over the long term...
and business strategy was the hallmark of Noyes' work with IBM, and other companies that followed. From creating the IBM design program to leading ground-breaking residential design in New Cannan, Noyes has become a leading image of post-war American architecture, industrial design and design management.
The Harvard Graduate School of Design
Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
has a named chair in his honor.
Quotes
“Details must play their part in relation to the overall concept and character of the building, and are the means by which the architect may underline his main idea, reinforce it, echo it, intensify or dramatize it.”"One thing I am not going to become is a guy who is called in to change the expression on the corporate face by hanging abstract paintings on the office walls."