Eliot Noyes - Design Philosophy

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 modern architects who practiced in New Canaan, Connecticut. Noyes began his career working for Walter Gropius, 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. Noyes' residential and industrial designs established him as a leader in the fields of post-war American architecture and integrated industrial design.

The Harvard Graduate School of Design has a named chair in his honor.