Bruce Burdick Executive Desk Herman Miller

The 'burdick group' desk, designed by american designer bruce burdick for herman miller, is a grand, luxurious and practical piece of furniture from the 1980s that has won several awards. These burdick tables are designed to contribute advanced functionality to work and meeting spaces. The modular desk consists of one large and one small worktop, both covered in leather, and a 'floating' plastic worktop. These blades are rigidly attached to beams made of precision machined cast aluminum. The tops of the beams are painted to reduce glare and provide visual contrast. A filing cabinet with three drawers hangs under one of the beams. The steel leg columns are painted black and their aluminum bases are fitted with 6 mm adjustable glides. Overall it is in good vintage condition, with some patina on the leather and some scratches here and there. In 1980, the burdick group received design awards from the institute of business designers and the industrial designers society of america. The following year, time magazine named the burdick group system as one of the best industrial design designs of 1981. The magazine described it as one of the first flexible office furniture systems to accommodate computer terminals and other electronic office machines.