Robert Propst (inventor)
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Robert Propst (inventor)
Robert Propst (1921–2000) was an American inventor. He was the inventor of the Action Office that evolved into the cubicle office furniture system. Biography and work Born in Colorado, Propst worked for Herman Miller (Research) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was hired in 1958 by company president Hugh DePree to "find problems outside of the furniture industry and to conceive solutions for them." Propst's 120 inventions include: *a vertical timber harvester *a quality control system for concrete *an electronic tagging system for livestock *a mobile office for a quadriplegic *modular systems for use in hospitals In 1953, he formed Propst Co. in Denver, Colorado, to commercialize his inventions. Propst's work has been exhibited at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Henry Ford Museum The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex i ...
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Action Office
The Action Office is a series of furniture designed by Robert Propst, and manufactured and marketed by Herman Miller. First introduced in 1964 as the ''Action Office I'' product line, then superseded by the ''Action Office II'' series, it is an influential design in the history of "contract furniture" (office furniture). The ''Action Office II'' series introduced the concept of the flexible, semi-enclosed workspaces, now better known as the cubicle. All cubicle office designs can be traced back to Herman Miller's ''Action Office'' product lines. History In 1960 Herman Miller created the Herman Miller Research Corporation, placing the new organization under the supervision of George Nelson, with day-to-day activities directed by Robert Propst. Although Nelson remained at Herman Miller's main campus in Zeeland, Michigan, Propst and the Herman Miller Research Corporation were located in Ann Arbor, Michigan (placing it in close proximity to the University of Michigan campus). Herman ...
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Cubicle
A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that they may concentrate with fewer distractions. Cubicles are composed of modular elements such as walls, work surfaces, overhead bins, drawers, and shelving, which can be configured depending on the user's needs. Installation is generally performed by trained personnel, although some cubicles allow configuration changes to be performed by users without specific training. Cubicles in the 2010s and 2020s are usually equipped with a computer, monitor, keyboard and mouse on the work surface. Cubicles typically have a desk phone. Since many offices use overhead fluorescent lights to illuminate the office, cubicles may or may not have lamps or other additional lighting. Other furniture that is often used in cubicles includes an office chair, a fi ...
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Herman Miller (manufacturer)
Herman Miller, officially MillerKnoll, Inc., is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings, including the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and the Eames Lounge Chair. Herman Miller is also credited with the 1968 invention of the office cubicle (originally known as the "Action Office") under then-director of research Robert Propst. History Herman Miller was founded in 1905 as the Star Furniture Co. Initially the company produced furniture, especially bedroom suites, in historic revival styles. In 1919, it was renamed the Michigan Star Furniture Co. under then-president Dirk Jan De Pree. De Pree and his father-in-law, Herman Miller, purchased 51% of the company stock in 1923 and renamed it the Herman Miller Furniture Company. The company reformed as Herman Miller, Inc. in 1960. With the coming of the Great Depression, the company faced bankruptcy until De Pree met Gilbert Rohde, an up-and-coming modernist designer. Rohd ...
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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor List of metropolitan statistical areas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Washtenaw County. Ann Arbor is also included in the Metro Detroit, Greater Detroit Combined statistical area, Combined Statistical Area and the Great Lakes megalopolis, the most populated and largest Megaregions of the United States, megalopolis in North America. Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan. The university significantly shapes Ann Arbor's economy as it employs about 30,000 workers, including about 12,000 in the University of Michigan Health System, medical center. The city's economy is also centered on high technology, with several companies drawn to the area by the university's research and development infrastructure. Ann A ...
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Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United States and the fifth most populous state capital. It is the principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the first city of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Denver is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Its downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, approximately east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is named after James W. Denver, a governor of the Kansas Territory. It is nicknamed the ''Mile High City'' because its official elevation is exactly one mile () above sea level. The 105th meridian we ...
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Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, together with the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and the Cowles Conservatory, it has an annual attendance of around 700,000 visitors. The museum's permanent collection includes over 13,000 modern and contemporary art pieces including books, costumes, drawings, media works, paintings, photography, prints, and sculpture. The Walker Art Center began 1879 as an art gallery in the home of lumber baron Thomas Barlow Walker. Walker formally established his collection as the Walker Art Gallery in 1927.Huber, Molly"Walker, Thomas Barlow (T.B.), (1840–1928)" '' Minnesota Historical Society'', 08 July 2015. Retrieved on 14 April 2015. With the support of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration, the Walker Art Gallery be ...
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Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins in timber and as the flour milling capital of the world. It occupies both banks of the Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota. Prior to European settlement, the site of Minneapolis was inhabited by Dakota people. The settlement was founded along Saint Anthony Falls on a section of land north of Fort Snelling; its growth is attributed to its proximity to the fort and the falls providing power for industrial activity. , the city has an estimated 425,336 inhabitants. It is the most populous city in the state and the 46th-most-populous city in the United States. Minneapolis, Saint Paul and the surrounding area are collectively known as the Twin Cities. Minneapolis has one of the most extensive public par ...
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Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967. Called "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 154 million items, the institution's 19 museums, 21 libraries, nine research centers, and zoo include historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in the District of Columbia. Additional facilities are located in Maryland, New York, and Virginia. More than 200 institutions and museums in 45 states,States without Smithsonian ...
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Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contains the presidential limousine of John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theatre, Thomas Edison's laboratory, the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, the Rosa Parks bus, and many other historical exhibits. It is the largest indoor–outdoor museum complex in the United States and is visited by over 1.7 million people each year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 as Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1981 as "Edison Institute". Museum background Named for its founder, the automobile industrialist Henry Ford, and based on his efforts to preserve items of historical interest and portray the Industrial Revolution, the property houses homes, machinery, e ...
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People From Colorado
This is a list of notable people from the U.S. state of Colorado. It includes people that were born, raised, or have significant relations with the state. Coloradans have been prominent in many fields, including literature, entertainment, art, music, politics, and business. This list attempts to maintain biographical notability of significant Coloradans, and to organize historically important men and women hailing from Colorado. Actors * Amy Adams (raised in Castle Rock, alumnus of Douglas County High School) – actress, nominated five times for an Oscar for performances in '' Junebug'', ''Doubt'', ''The Fighter'', '' The Master'' and '' American Hustle'' * Tim Allen (born in Denver) – film and television actor, comedian, winner of a Golden Globe Award (1993, nominated six times); star of ''The Santa Clause'', ''Toy Story'' and the television series ''Home Improvement'' and '' Last Man Standing'' * Baby Marie (real name Marie Osborne; born in Denver) – film actre ...
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People From Zeeland, Michigan
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, or legal responsibility. The defining features of personhood and, consequently, what makes a person count as a person, differ widely among cultures and contexts. In addition to the question of personhood, of what makes a being count as a person to begin with, there are further questions about personal identity and self: both about what makes any particular person that particular person instead of another, and about what makes a person at one time the same person as they were or will be at another time despite any intervening changes. The plural form "people" is often used to refer to an entire nation or ethnic group (as in "a people"), and this was the original meaning of the word; it subsequently acquired its use as a plural form of per ...
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