Culture + Talent

The Way Forward

A new relationship between Steelcase and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

Read 2 minutes

We are looking back at our heritage with one of history’s most visionary architects in order to see the way forward to vital designs for how we live and work today. Steelcase and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation are joining in a new creative collaboration — a partnering that intends to range from launching reintroductions of iconic pieces to newly authored designs rooted in Frank Lloyd Wright’s principles.

SC Johnson Administration Building
In 1939 Steelcase produced the furniture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the SC Johnson Administration Building in Racine, WI.

Our unique connection with Frank Lloyd Wright began over 80 years ago, in 1939, with Wright’s revolutionary design of one of the first open plan office spaces, the SC Johnson Administration Building in Racine, Wisconsin. Steelcase produced Wright’s inspiring and practical furnishings for those workspaces, embodying his groundbreaking principles of organic architecture. Since 1985 we’ve added to this shared heritage through our ongoing stewardship of Wright’s Meyer May House in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With years of meticulous research and repair, the house has been returned to its original 1909 design — one of the most complete restorations of a Wright Prairie style residence in the world.

Through scale and materiality, the Frank Lloyd Wright Racine Collection reinterprets the furniture for how we live and work today.

Now, we’re looking ahead to continue Wright’s legacy through an expansive new relationship with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. We’re drawing on the Foundation’s Archives and Wright’s design principles for aspiration and inspiration, to create ongoing collections of fine Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired furnishings, and to come, textiles and wall coverings, that evolve from the legendary to the unexpected. As we revisit, reintroduce, and reinterpret Wright’s work for the world he envisioned, we believe there’s never been a more meaningful time to draw from a master who was always ahead of his time.

“The present is the ever moving shadow that divides yesterday from tomorrow. In that lies hope.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

We’re honored to be stewards of Wright’s ideas as we apply his original principles — bringing his vision of the relationships between people, nature and place to life, and championing his belief in an architecture for better living that helps to shape our collective future.

This fall we will launch the first product line cultivated from our new relationship — the Frank Lloyd Wright Racine Collection by Steelcase. Reflecting our common ground, this debut will include pieces that are both reintroductions and reinterpretations of the original furniture from the SC Johnson Administration Building.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Racine Signature Desk and Chair reintroduce designs and finishes from the SC Johnson Administration Building.

Related Stories

Designing Our Return to the Office

Designing Our Return to the Office

Donna Flynn, vice president of global talent at Steelcase, shares how we designed a more thoughtful experience to help our employees transition back to a hybrid workplace.

Culture and the Work Experience

Culture and the Work Experience

An interview with Michael Schmutzer who shares his vision on the future of work and the resilience of the open plan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Propinquity Can Save Your Team Culture

How Propinquity Can Save Your Team Culture

Propinquity is our natural human tendency to develop tight interpersonal bonds with the people or things that are closest to us.