Jack Dunbar: 1987 Hall of Fame Inductee
Jack Dunbar brought 30 years of professional design experience to dePolo, Inc. when he joined Lydia dePolo as her partner in 1977, forming the present New York firm dePolo/Dunbar, Inc. After attending the Illinois Institute of Technology, he began his career as art director of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. After joining the New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as founding coordinator of its interior design department, he became, over the next 25 years, a seminal force in what is now considered “modern” office design. In such projects as the Park Avenue headquarters of Union Carbide Corporation, Dunbar, pioneered concepts of open office space planning and work station design. He also broke new design ground with his designs for Herman Miller showrooms in the early 1950s and the application of bright color palette to hospital design.
Mr. Dunbar has also established a reputation as an important industrial and furniture designer. He developed upholstered furniture pieces for the office in the style of minimalist sculpture and, with the late George Nelson, invented track lighting in 1951. He has designed office systems for the Dunbar Furniture Company and has consulted for Steelcase and Helikon.
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