Archinect - News

Influential New York City subway map designer Michael Hertz has died

2020-02-26T14:42:00-05:00

Michael Hertz, whose design firm produced one of the most consulted maps in human history, the curvy-lined chart that New York City subway riders peer at over one another’s shoulders to figure out which stop they want, died on Feb. 18 in East Meadow, N.Y. He was 87.

In an effort to boost ridership, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, North America's largest public transportation network, formed a committee under the leadership of John Tauranac in the mid-1970s to create a new, more appealing map for the New York City subway system and replace the iconic, Massimo Vignelli-designed — yet impractical and not universally loved — map in service at the time.

Michael Hertz Associates provided a new design, featuring more geographically correct lines, which was ultimately published in June 1979 in time for the subway's 75-year anniversary. It has remained the basis for all subsequent maps issued until today.

New York City Subway Map from July 2019. Courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York.

"The map that Mr. Hertz’s firm came up with included streets, neighborhoods and other surface reference points," writes Neil Genzlinger for the NYT. "And it depicted the city and its signature elements like Central Park and th...

Lella and Massimo Vignelli's legendary New York home to list for $6.5 million

2018-01-26T14:10:00-05:00

Other than the conversion of the dining room into a library and a den into office space in 2000, the apartment has remained largely unchanged since the 1970s. “Some people might see this as dated,” [Luca] Vignelli said. But much of the apartment feels timeless, as his parents intended, he added: “I would love to see somebody who appreciates the space and their presence in the space” as a buyer.

The design legacy of the late Lella and Massimo Vignelli lives on in their New York home, which will be listed for $6.5 million. The home hasn't changed much since the couple bought it in 1978. Their children Luca and Valentina Vignelli, who are selling the duplex because they both live elsewhere, are hoping they can find the right buyer.

The long-lost design bible of the New York subway is (briefly) back in print

2014-09-10T15:37:00-04:00

To many designers, the manual became an exemplar of the form—and a design classic in its own right. [...] When Hamish Smyth and Jesse Reed, who work at the New York design firm Pentagram, stumbled across a copy a few years ago, it was buried under old gym clothes in a locker. They digitized the manual, and now they’re reprinting it with the blessing of the MTA. A complete reissue, which includes a new essay on the manual’s history, is being sold on Kickstarter starting today [...].

Editor's Picks #370

2014-06-04T15:36:00-04:00

The latest edition of the Working out of the Box series featured Daniel Carper , Product Designer at Loaded Boards and Orangatang Wheels. Thayer-D was impressed "Very cool stuff. I've often wondered about the intersection of industrial design and architecture".

Plus, Amelia discusses TELOS: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui, a documentary in which Kyung Lee explore what "Tssui’s outsider status means in the shifting waters of architectural discourse, as the architect seeks approval for his TELOS project".

News

R.I.P - Massimo Vignelli, the award-winning designer, who died at the age of 83 after a long-term illness.

The LA Times published Christopher Hawthorne’s review of 9/11 Memorial Museum, in which he writes "The intensity, scope and sheer unrelenting literalism of this approach marks a significant change in how we choose to mark national trauma".

EKE chimed in "I think the museum was a bad idea on this site. ..I do think that the site is a sacred one because of the deaths that ha...

Richard Meier Remembers the Late Massimo Vignelli: “He Made Me Look Twice”

2014-05-28T17:22:00-04:00

I saw him a week ago [Tuesday], and he was sitting at his desk going through some of the thousands of letters and notes that people have sent to him wishing him well. He just had this incredible spirit about him, this attitude that everything was going to be all right. He was amazing.”

Massimo Vignelli, acclaimed modernist architect and graphic designer, dies at 83

2014-05-27T14:14:00-04:00

Massimo Vignelli, the award-winning designer whose influential signature minimalist style balanced architecture and graphic design in the later half of the 20th century, has died at the age of 83 after a long-term illness.

Born in Milan on Jan. 10, 1931 and inspired by Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, Vignelli began his career in architecture working as a draftsman when he was 16. He went on to study art and architecture in Milan and Venice, and came to the U.S. through academic fellowships between 1957-1960. He met his wife Lella Vignelli while studying in Venice and in 1960, they established the Vignelli Office of Design and Architecture in Milan.

After Vignelli formed renowned design firm Unimark International with six other designers in Chicago, where they created New York's subway signs and helped shape corporate identities through graphic design, he and Lella co-founded Vignelli Associates -- their own architecture firm -- in 1971.

Massimo Vignelli communicated architectu...

Richard Meier in Film by Johnnie Shand Kydd

2012-11-08T12:01:00-05:00

Illustrious modernist Richard Meier and multi-disciplinary creator Massimo Vignelli reflect on their respective crafts, city life, and enduring friendship in this mesmeric film by Johnnie Shand Kydd.

Ahead of Its Time | An Icon Goes Digital

2011-09-28T20:14:26-04:00

In 1972, Massimo Vignelli designed a diagrammatic map for the New York City subway. It was a radical departure. He replaced the serpentine maze of geographically accurate train routes with simple, bold bands of color that turned at 45- and 90-degree angles. [...] Its abstract representation of the routes was elegant but flawed. To make the map function effectively, a few geographic liberties were taken, something that didn’t sit well with New Yorkers.