The Ice Palace That Melted Away: Restoring Civility and Other Lost Virtues to Everyday Life [Hardcover]

Bill Stumpf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 1998

With The Ice Palace That Melted Away, Bill Stumpf, the designer of the first ergonomic chair, addresses the symbiotic relationship between design and the way we live, the often deadening effect of technology, and his hopes for a more humane future. As a designer associated with Herman Miller, Inc., for more than twenty years, Stumpf has been thinking about the profoundly positive or negative effect design can have on our culture. He is both an idealist and a pragmatist, and his wry, anecdotal style gently reveals his shrewd observations about American customs and values. Stumpf is convinced that good design can create the right atmosphere to inspire learning, rehabilitate criminals, and generally lift our spirits. Since technology has succeeded in distancing us from the real experiences of life and such former pleasures as travel, in this facinating  book he proposes a playful redesign of the Boeing 747 and a jaunty carriage-like taxicab to put us back in touch with travel as it once was. But it is an event s
uch as the construction of the ephemeral ice palace in St. Paul, Minnesota, during the winter carnival--a source of joy and pride to adults and children alike--that encapsulates the idea of play, which Stumpf feels is essential to all our lives.
This provocative book asks whether we might want to do something about our ever-declining levels of "comfort, hidden goodness, play, personal worth, and helping others" to make our future society a truly civilized one.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"No thing is too large or too small to have within it a civil message," writes designer Bill Stumpf, "inventions, all manner of urban architecture from public schools, daycare centers, to housing, police cars and uniforms, taxicabs, food, plumbing, telephones, computers, media, affordable and available products of quality." Stumpf has been doing his part to make the world a more comfortable place for years--among the products he's designed was the world's first ergonomic chair--and in The Ice Palace That Melted Away, he shares his thoughts (and a few flights of fancy) with readers.

Stumpf has a folksy, grandfatherly style of delivery that serves him well, whether he's talking about a set of lace curtains he saw in the window of a Swiss police station, Britain's lamentable phase-out of its archetypal red telephone booths, or his suggested redesign of the 747 to allow more passengers to enjoy the thrilling airborne views. Stumpf lives in Minneapolis (the titular ice palace was a 100-foot-plus sculpture at the neighboring St. Paul Winter Carnival), and his quiet celebration of his neighbor's way of life is somewhat reminiscent of Garrison Keillor, but with some urbane twists all his own.

From Publishers Weekly

The ice palace of the title was an elaborate castle in St. Paul made up of 350-pound blocks of ice enclosing colored electric lights. The labor of architects, engineers and electricians was donated, and for Stumpf it symbolizes a sense of community and the love of play and pleasure that used to characterize America, in contrast to today's emphasis on speed, utility and function. In a sometimes rambling, occasionally crotchety, often nostalgic, but consistently engaging book, Stumpf exhorts us to recapture those qualities that he classifies as "civility." The term is stretched somewhat out of shape to include "grace, comfort, hidden goodness, social lubrication, personal worth, and helping others" as well as joy, compassion, trust and good will. Being a designer himself, Stumpf sees design as the means for transforming society to the ideal of civilityAhumane design of "things, places, and paths." This includes everything from 747s with domes to supermarket bags with handles, fresh baked bread at McDonald's to clear sight lines in cinemas, eating uninjected sweet corn to designing a way of growing old. Since Stimpf defines design as giving order to objects, community, environment and behavior, perhaps this breadth is justified. However, too much may be claimed for the power of good design to transform life, and the world of the past may not have been all that exemplary. Things aren't what they used to be, but then they never were.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1 edition (September 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375402217
• ISBN-13: 978-0375402210
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,268,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An optimistic book, May 31, 2000

By 

Ahmad Jordan "Ahmad Jordan" (Bufalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ice Palace That Melted Away: Restoring Civility and Other Lost Virtues to Everyday Life (Hardcover)

This book is for any designer who believes our craft is about more than making a better product...but also a better way of life. How do we improve the level of spiritual experiences that connect between a companys products or architecture and the human beings who use them. One example that Stumpf brings up is the experiences we have on airplanes. Plane travel is usually a very tiring experience for most travellers. But why does it have to be that way? A plane brings us so much closer to the sky that it might be enjoyable if telescopes were hooked up so that people can do some star gazing etc. My first reaction was "Yeah Right" to many of the examples that Stumpf illustrated. But on second thought I began to realize that Stumpfs thinking is exactly what we need in todays commercial industry. Products and services these days are created only for profit but advertised as if they will improve our quality of life. And maybe they do. But Stumpf is talking about a more spiritual "Quality of Life." The kind that gives a person memories. The kind that makes a person connect as a human being with all the creations we impose upon society. What I admire most about the book is that it dares to be optimistic. I can't say that all of the ideas mentioned in here are practical...but so what? The idea, I believe, is to get designers and architects to put more heart into their creations. To consider the spiritual functions of what we do...and not just the marketing functions. This book, I say, is a good read. Take your time reading it. Read it during a quiet rainy day while drinking some coffee. Enjoy the experience (hint. hint)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, November 26, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ice Palace That Melted Away: Restoring Civility and Other Lost Virtues to Everyday Life (Hardcover)

Very inspiring, full of perspective on the world of 'things' that surround us. A quick read that takes us through very profoud territory. A must for any one that is interested in understanding the way we receive products and social standards into our lives. It fully lives up to its sub title.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, January 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ice Palace That Melted Away: Restoring Civility and Other Lost Virtues to Everyday Life (Hardcover)

I liked Mr. Stumpf's sense of humor. His reflections on our current social design standards were amusing as well as depressing. A dry read which moistened towards the end.