Paimio Chair (model 41) by Alvar Aalto, 1932

• Designed By - Alvar Aalto
• When - 1932
• Made From - Laminated birch plywood and birch frame
• Manufactured By - Artek
• More Info - This chair was designed by Aalto for his Paimio Sanatorium which is a hospital in Finland. This is the most well known and popular of Aalto’s chairs. The seat and back of this cantilever chair are formed from a single piece of laminated birch ply in a beautiful scroll shape and fulfil Aalto’s desire to push shape and structure to the extremes but still using natural materials. The chair was designed to assist the posture and breathing of patients with TB, making then feel more comfortable. The chair caused a considerable stir when it was exhibited at Fortnum and Mason in London in 1933 as it was technologically groundbreaking and very different from anything else that had been seen before. It was inspired by Marcel Breuer’s Wassily Chair. It is the best known piece of furniture made by Artek and they are still made in the same factory, using some of the same tool and wood from the same forests as when they were first produced. It is in the permanent collection of many museums including MoMA. It is available with a white or black seat.