HED recognizes the innumerable contributions members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community have made to the design industry and our team would like to celebrate and remember those contributions.
Here are a few of our favorites:
Isamu Noguchi | https://www.noguchi.org/
Isamu Noguchi is a Japanese American sculptor and multi-hyphenate designer with work ranging in furniture, lighting, theatre and set design as well as numerous sculptural art pieces. His prolific portfolio includes one of the most iconic pieces of modernist furniture today - the Noguchi coffee table produced in collaboration with Herman Miller in 1947.
Maya Lin | http://www.mayalin.com/
Maya Lin is a Chinese-American, award-winning designer, sculptor, craftsman and architect. She is best known for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1980 as a 21-year old undergraduate architecture student.
Maya Lin at the dedication ceremony of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982. (Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images)
One of her recent projects - Folding the Chesapeake - is a portrayal of the Chesapeake Bay modeled to scale, using 54,000 marbles with the help of NASA satellite imagery. The marbles reflect light and represent individual components of the ecosystem, while creating a physical guideline to how the waterway has changed over time for the locals familiar with the geography. At its core, the installation is meant to create awareness about the threats affecting Chesapeake Bay: poor water quality, pollution, deforestation, and rising sea levels.
Capturing natural change and creating awareness for conservation, social issues, and historical events is something Maya Lin has invariably taken to heart and is a quality of her work that continues to inspire us daily.
Maya Lin, Folding the Chesapeake, 2015, fiberglass marbles, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Debbie Frank Petersen, 2016.26, © 2015, Maya Lin
Jiun Ho | http://jiunho.com/
Originally from Malaysia, Jiun Ho arrived in the United States in the early 1990’s to study interior design and architecture. At the age of 26, he launched his own design company. Since then, he has grown his interior design business to include original furniture, lighting, and textile designs featured in premier showrooms across the US, Canada and internationally. HED celebrates his industrious and worldly perspective and rich, natural designs.
Gorgeous Ulu table by Jiun Ho in HED’s Mercer Island project
A Final Message
Our team at HED sends our condolences to the families affected by the escalation of violence against Asian Americans - to say we are troubled and saddened by the recent tragedies is an understatement.
If you are seeking ways to support, the following organizations are doing great work for the AAPI community and we encourage you to follow their page and/or donate:
Stop AAPI Hate | https://stopaapihate.org/
Advancing Justice | AAJC | https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/
Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. - Atlanta | https://cpacs.org/
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum - Atlanta | https://www.napawf.org/chapters/georgia
Asian American Legal Defense Fund | https://www.aaldef.org/
Asian American Advocacy Fund - Asian Americans United For A More Progressive Southeast | https://www.asianamericanadvocacyfund.org/