Why Steelcase has long link to legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright (Steelcase at 100)

GRAND RAPIDS Walking through the Meyer May House with Site Manager Don Dekker, Steelcase eases gently into his story.

Just as the homes architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, challenged the world of architecture and design to explore how they designed houses, Steelcase challenges the business world to re-examine and explore how they design the workplace, Dekker explains.

But visitors would be hard-pressed to find the Steelcase name or logo anywhere in the Meyer May house. Its only found on a historic plaque outside the house and on a small plaque near the entrance.

Its part of Steelcases philosophy of quiet competence, says Dekker, who retired from Steelcase after 37 years and is now the homes site manager and head docent.

After all, the low-slung house at 450 Madison Ave. SE has a story of its own. It was built in 1909, before Steelcases forerunner, the Metal Office Furniture Co., was founded in 1911.

Do you have a Steelcase story? Do you or a family member have a special memory of working for the company? We would love to have you share your story with us. Send us your memory and email it to us at grbusiness@mlive.com with the subject line, Steelcase memory.

Department store owner Meyer May commissioned Wright to build a modern home for himself and his bride to reflect his elegant lifestyle and his 5-foot-4-inch height. Wright designed the homes furniture, windows and ceilings to Mays personal scale in his trademark Prairie style.

But the house didnt remain a Wright masterpiece for long. The tragic death of Mays wife, a new wife who didnt like Wrights furniture, an addition for her children and subsequent owners who divided the house up into three rental units had left the house in poor repair by the mid-1980s.

RELATED: More coverage of Steelcase's 100th anniversary

Thats when Steelcase stepped in. By then the worlds leading office furniture manufacturer, Steelcase wanted to make a design statement and Wright fit the bill perfectly.

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Why Steelcase has long link to legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright (Steelcase at 100)