Maria Bergson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Bergson
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| Born | 1914 |
| Died | March 19, 2009 (aged 95) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | Interior Design Magazine's Hall of Fame (1990) |
Maria Bergson (1914 – March 19, 2009) was an amazing American interior designer, industrial designer, and architect. She is famous for changing how commercial offices were designed. Maria specialized in making the inside of offices, banks, hotels, and hospitals look great. She also designed furniture and lighting fixtures.
Maria was the first woman designer to be listed in Who's Who in America in 1956. In 1990, she was honored in Interior Design magazine's Hall of Fame. She was recognized as a leader in designing spaces for businesses.
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Early Life
Maria Bergson was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1914. She came to America in 1940. Her parents were Egon and Therese Bergson. Before she moved to America, Maria worked as an actress.
Revolutionizing Office Design
Maria Bergson began her career in commercial interior design in 1944. She had been working as a secretary at Time, Inc.. Maria openly told executives how the office layout could be better. She shared her ideas based on her own experiences.
When the office moved to a new place, an executive asked Maria for her advice. Her plans made a lot of sense. The executive then asked her to draw up and carry out her ideas. Soon after, she started her own company. It was called Maria Bergson Associates (MBA). Her company had offices in New York and Los Angeles.
Innovative Workspaces
Maria focused on designing offices, banks, hotels, hospitals, and stores. She also created the furniture and lighting for these places. In 1949, she came up with a new idea. She designed 64-square-foot modular work stations with partitions. These stations gave people a lot of workspace that was easy to reach.
She designed a special modular workspace with ten units. These units could be moved around in 46 different ways. This allowed each person to arrange their space just how they needed it. The design included special spots for files, books, letters, pencils, and paper clips.
Maria also designed and patented a unique typewriter desk. She filed the patent on April 1, 1948. It was officially published on March 13, 1951.
Hospital Innovations
Maria Bergson also made big changes in hospital design. She thought about both patients and staff. Her ideas included private areas for patients. She also used indirect, soft lighting. These ideas were widely used in hospitals across the United States and Sweden.
Notable Clients
Maria Bergson worked with many important clients. These included:
- Time, Inc.
- American Airlines
- Citibank
- DuPont
- IBM
- New York Telephone
- The U.S. Post Office
- Independence Air
- Prudential Insurance Co.
- U.S. Borax & Chemical Co.
- Union Bank & Trust Co.
- Owens-Corning Fiberglass
Exhibits
- Office Furniture Design at The Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, Pennsylvania. This exhibit ran from March 30 to April 25, 1948.
Awards
- Interior Design Magazine's Hall of Fame (1990)
