ABOVE: For functionality and flexibility, Diaz-Azcuy produced three pieces for McGuire Furniture's "Loggia" collection; an armless chair, a corner chair and an ottoman. BELOW: Made of teak, the "Portico" collection is available in a range of finishes or unfinished for a natural look.

ORLANDO DIAZ-AZCUY: PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

...cont. from previous page.

Rather than give up design, Diaz-Azcuy gave up architecture. "I decided to dedicate my life to furniture design, so I started my own firm," he says. "Soon, requests for commercial and residential work started coming in and I couldn't say no." In 1987, he established Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Designs in San Francisco, and in 2001, he opened a second office in New York.

In addition to providing full interior design services, the firm creates textile designs for HBF, F. Schumacher Co. and Pallas Textiles; a lighting collection for Boyd Lighting; and furniture designs for HBF, Stow Davis, Steelcase and McGuire Furniture.

Diaz-Azcuy met McGuire founders John and Elinor during his early days in San Francisco, and forged a personal and professional relationship that continues today.

When The Kohler Co. purchased McGuire, it sought a new direction. Diaz-Azcuy's eye for architectural simplicity and dramatic visual effects made him the logical choice. "The challenge was to create a new aesthetic for McGuire, to create a line that expressed movement toward the future while using rattan and other traditional McGuire materials of the past," he says. And that's exactly what he did.

Recognized nationally and internationally, Diaz-Azcuy's work has been published in more than 12 books, and the designer has made television appearances on Elle Décor's "Homes with Style" and HGTV's "Design for Living." He also teaches summer sessions at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.

His line for McGuire is available at Baker Knapp & Tubbs in the Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach, 954/920-4565, or at Decor House, Inc. in Miami, 305/448-8500. For information on his product line for Boyd Lighting, call Jerry Pair & Associates in the DCOTA at 954/923-3330. For general information, contact his firm in San Francisco at 415/362-4500.

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