Design Research (abbreviated and trademarked as D/R) was a retail store founded in 1953 by Ben Thompson in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and which introduced the concept of lifestyle store. In the 1970s under subsequent ownership, it became a chain of a dozen stores across the United States, and went bankrupt in 1979. Thompson's goal was to provide "a place where people could buy everything they needed for contemporary living",Pilar Viladas, "One-Stop Living", The_New_York_Times September 29, 2010 notably modern European furnishings and in particular Scandinavian design.

D/R has continued to have an outsized reputation: in 2000, a survey of influential design stores named D/R as number one, though it had then been closed for 22 years.Rob Forbes, "Foreword: Who's Your Daddy?" in Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange, Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes, 2010 , p. 7 excerpt available The store influenced later retailers like Crate & Barrel, Design Within Reach, Pottery Barn, Workbench, and Conran's.Suzanne Slesin, "Design/ Research Store Starts Its Final Sale", The New York Times June 1, 1979

Selection of products

Design Research carried an eclectic selection of products, from furniture to clothing, from toys to pots and pans, at a wide range of prices, introducing the idea of a lifestyle store.Carole Nicksin, "The Legacy of Design Research: The impact of the long-defunct retailer is still being felt within the home furnishings industry", HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, November 8, 2004 full text It carried furnishings by such designers as Marcel Breuer, Hans Wegner, Alvar Aalto, and Joe Colombo.

Design Research was the exclusive US representative for the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko from 1959 to 1976.Marianne Aav, Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, 2003 , p. 305, 324 excerpts at Google Books Jacqueline Kennedy was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1960 in a Marimekko sundress purchased at D/R.Sports Illustrated, December 26, 1960; in Marianne Aav, Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, 2003, , p. 162

Stores The original Design Research store was in a 19th-century wood frame mansard house at 57 Brattle Street, in Harvard Square, Cambridge. D/R later added stores in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts; Lexington Avenue (1961) and East 57th Street (1964) in New York City; and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco (1965).

Harvard University bought the original Brattle Street store and demolished it in 1969 to build the Gutman Library of its School of Education.

In 1969, Thompson opened a new, much larger, Cambridge store in his revolutionary new building on Brattle Street with entirely glass walls.

Until 1969, D/R stores were all located in urban areas, but under new management, D/R opened stores in suburban shopping malls, which Thompson disapproved of: South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts (1972); South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California (1972); and The Mall at Chestnut Hill in Newton, Massachusetts (1974). The company also opened urban stores at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco (1973), and in downtown Philadelphia in Rittenhouse Square (1975).Janet Levy, "Design Research: Marketing 'Good design' in the 50s, 60s, and 70s", Master of Arts thesis at Parsons The New School for Design, 2004. Chapter 2, p. 63

The Brattle Street store In 1969, Thompson moved the original Cambridge store to a revolutionary new building designed by his firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates, at 48 Brattle Street in Harvard Square, on a block that came to be known as "Architects' Corner"."Architects' Corner", Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia The 5-story building consists of flat concrete slabs supported by interior columns, and enclosed by frameless tempered glass walls."25-Year Award to Design Research Headquarters", ArchitectureWeek full text The use of butted glass with no frame or mullions was unprecedented, and "allowed D/R to be a building almost 'without architecture'".Tom Green, as quoted in Mark Pasnik, Michael Kubo, Chris Grimley, Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston, 2015, , p. 188

It immediately received favorable reviews: "points the way to a method of glass building that could create a warmer city, adding color and light and optimism to the life of the streets".Architectural Record as quoted in Gavin W. Kleespies and Katie MacDonald (Cambridge Historical Society), "Design Research Building" in Harvard Square Business Association Archives The building won many awards over the years:

1970: New England AIA Honor Award, New England Chapter of the American Institute of Architects 1971: Harleston Parker Medal for Outstanding Architecture, Boston Society of Architects 1971: National Honor Award, American Institute of Architects 2003: AIA Twenty-five Year Award for "architecture of enduring significance"Twenty Five Year Award Recipients .

Later tenants Since D/R closed in 1979, the Brattle Street building has had various tenants:

from 1979-January 2009, a Crate & Barrel store;Peter F. Zhu, "Crate & Barrel To Close", The Harvard Crimson, November 19, 2008 full text

from October 2009 to April 2010, a temporary installation of D/R goods, visible from the street but not open to the public;Alyssa Giacobbe, "A Look Back at Design Research", The New York Times October 28, 2009 full text

from August 2010 to January 2025, an Anthropologie store;Xi Yu, "Women's Clothing Store Anthropologie To Light Up Space on Brattle St.", The Harvard Crimson, June 24, 2010 full text

from November 2025, a Muji store.

Corporate history Design Research was started by the architect Ben Thompson in 1953. Spencer Field, a furniture designer, joined the firm as a 50-50 business partner in the early 1950s.Obituary, "Spencer Field, at 78; owned travel firm, designed furniture", The Boston Globe, February 21, 1997, p. B7 By 1966, it was clear that the company was underfinanced for Thompson's expansion plans, and he started looking for outside investors. The company was reorganized as a new corporate entity in 1967 and was recapitalized, with Field's interest being bought out in February 1968 by Peter J. Sprague, an entrepreneur and chairman of National Semiconductor, who became chairman.

In 1969, Sprague forced Thompson out as director of the company, but Thompson remained a stockholder. Under a succession of presidents, D/R opened more new stores, but Thompson felt that they had lost their distinctive style and approach. By 1976, the business was deteriorating, and in 1979 it declared bankruptcy. Rights to the names "Design Research" and "D/R" were bought jointly by Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn.Levy, "Design Research" Chapter 1 , p. 17-29

Bibliography Janet Levy, "Design Research: Marketing 'Good design' in the 50s, 60s, and 70s", Master of Arts thesis at Parsons The New School for Design, 2004. chapter list Walter J. Salmon, "Design Research, Inc.", Harvard Business School Case 578-203 (not seen)

Andrew Wagner, "Partners in Design", Dwell October/November 2005 full text original magazine spread , ArchitectureBoston, Spring 2011 issue, Boston Society of Architects. Issue is dedicated entirely to Thompson with articles by various authors.

Notes

Further reading Sullivan, Charles M., "Harvard Square History and Development", Cambridge Historical Commission. Cf. Part 4 on D/R in Harvard Square

External links Design Research Headquarters at Great Buildings: photos, plans, bibliography from ArchitectureWeek. Design Research Headquarters at the Archiplanet wiki, a service of ArchitectureWeek Photographs of the original store: "When Shopping Was Sociable" "A look back at Cambridge’s Design Research Store"