Fire is ultimately associated with the primeval, a basic need for warmth and safety. With this in mind, it is perhaps easy to see why fireplace designs have been kept in a time-warp for so long – the traditional associations of fire, along with the view that the fireside symbolises the comforts of hearth and home, have ensured that period styles have simply been recycled.
However, all this changed through the British architect Henry Harrison. In 1984, Harrison was designing a flat in Chelsea for an American client. He had trouble finding a fireplace that reflected the modern interior of the flat, and so he came up with his own contemporary fireplace design – the hole-in-the-wall, complete with modern grate. This looked perfect until the owner spoiled the modern look by putting ordinary gas coals on the fire! Harrison intervened once more, and commissioned an artist friend to fashion some geometric shapes from fire cement. These were known as ‘platonic solids’, and were the first of his ongoing range of hand-cast ‘fire objects’, such as the pebbles and driftwood well known today.
Later that year, Harrison went on to set up The Platonic Fireplace Company. For the first ten years, the business sold a steady stream of ultra-modern fireplaces, usually to other architects and designers. In the eighties, the public simply found the contemporary fireplace too outlandish and minimalist, despite the eagerness of the designers.
In the late nineties, however, modernism quickly came into vogue. The Platonic Fireplace Company responded by offering many styles of contemporary fireplace, with sleek lines and clean styling. However, they kept one element of the traditional – the comforting live flame.
Today, there are unlimited styles of modern fireplace on the market and these are immensely popular. The strong lines of a modern wall mounted fire provide the ultimate centrepiece in a modern room, whilst the more understated retro design harks back to days gone by. One thing is for sure – the contemporary fireplace designs available today are without doubt a worthy focal point in any modern residence.
5 Responses to “The Contemporary Fireplace: A Brief History”
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