- Designed By - Le
Courbusier
- When - 1928
- Made From - Stainless
steel, leather and polyurethane foam
- Manufactured By - Originally by Thonet, Cassina
from 1965
- More Info - This
is a very sophisticated, boxy, masculine chair which is very popular for
offices and is certainly a design icon. What makes this chair different and
interesting is that the tubular framework is on the outside and therefore on
show which is quite a statement and it challenges the concept of upholstered
furniture, but it makes no difference to the comfort. Le Corbusier described it as a ‘cusion basket’. The chair
was designed for the Salon d’Automne in Paris in 1929. It
is included in the design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The chairs are now foam padded but were originally stuffed with down. They were
originally upholstered in black or white leather but now a range of brighter
colours are available as well as cow hide. There is a smaller version called
the ‘petite modèle. There is also a
two-seater and three-seater sofa version of this
chair.
- Designed By - Eero
Saarinen
- When - 1946
- Made From - Bent
plywood and fabric
- Manufactured By - Knoll
- More Info - This
was Saarinen’s first piece he designed for Knoll. Production stopped in 1965
but copies are still being made. There is also a matching ottoman. It is
available in 3 different woods and over 50 fabric and leather options.
- Designed By - Grete Jalk
- When - 1963
- Made From - Laminated
plywood
- Manufactured by - Lange Production
- More Info - This
chair is regarded as the best and is certainly the most famous piece by Grete Jalk. It won first prize
in a competition organized by the British newspaper Daily Mail. It is a very
sculptural chair and has a very interesting shape. It is made form only two
pieces of moulded plywood and is very complex to produce. He was inspired by
the bent plywood chairs by Alvar Alto and Charles
Eames but with this chair he decided to be even more adventurous with this
method of making. The chair is available in teak, Oregon pine and black stained
ash wood. A was designed with a matching table: the GJ Nesting Table.
