Kho Liang Ie (b Magelang, 5 Aug 1927; d Amsterdam, 1 Jan 1975). Dutch interior designer and industrial designer of Indonesian birth. After training at the Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs (now the Gerrit Rietveld Academie), Amsterdam (1950-54), he rapidly established himself as a designer. His first industrial contacts were made as a consultant/adviser to the Good Living foundation (1954-6). In the post-war years Kho played an important role in stimulating the cooperation between designers and industry and influenced the design policies of various Dutch furniture producers, including Wagemans/Artifort, Maastricht, ‘t Spectrum, Bergeijk and CAR, Katwijk.
He was also an active organizer and initiator of various exhibitions and congresses. Through his versatility, original ideas and remarkable creativity he was considered as one of the most eminent Dutch designers. His work is distinguished both by its playfulness and originality and by a desire to achieve something more than a rational organization of interior space. Nevertheless, his work was clearly based on rational, analytical elements; he was familiar with the principles of the Bauhaus through his teacher Johan Niegeman (1902-77). He developed systems to accommodate standardized industrial production, and though his furniture is extremely modest in design, it shows perfectionism in its detail.
From 1962, in addition to numerous stands, exhibitions, showrooms, model dwellings and private interiors, Kho concentrated on large-scale public interiors. He possessed the interdisciplinary approach necessary for this kind of work as seen in the designs for Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam (1962-7, 1970, 1975). From 1968 he worked as part of a team and his associates maintained his office after his death, under the name of Kho Liang Ie Associates. (source: www.answers.com)
