David Rowland served in the US Army Air Force during WWII and studied physics before he turned to industrial design. In 1951 he took a master’s degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. After graduation Rowland received his first commission, to design an experimental chair for the No-Sag Spring Company in Detroit. The result was the Transparent Chair which was shown at the National Home Furnishings Show in New York and received much acclaim.
From 1951 Rowland worked for the industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes in New York, whereafter he left to work as a freelance designer in 1954. From 1955 Florence Knoll became Rowland’s mentor on his chair designs.
For eight years, from 1955 to -63, Rowland worked on the design of the high-density stacking chair 40/4, which was produced by the General Fireproofing Company in Ohio. The 40/4 was awarded a Gran Prix at the Milan Triennale in 1964. In 1992 the Danish company Howe acquired the right to the chair, which expanded into a collection in 2004.
In 1969 Rowland designed the completely collapsible Take Home Sofa, which later was developed into his Modulus Seating System by Finish company Martela in 1982. Three years earlier the Softec Chair was launched by the Thonet Company, the first chair that incorporated his invention Soflex – a seating material made of metal springs covered in a liquid plastic. In 1984 Rowland designed the Billow chair for Canadian company Nienkamper.
David Rowland passed away in 2010 at the age of 86. He is represented at museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, and the Museum of Furniture Studies in Stockholm.
