GamFratesi Studio—a cooperative established in 2006 by Danish architect Stine Gam and Italian architect Enrico Fratesi— created the Beetle Lounge Chair for husband-and-wife duo Gubi and Lisbeth Larson. It's an upholstered, contemporary chair reminiscent of a sleek beetle, and is based on GamFratesi's "fascination [with] how the external shell supports and protects the creature's body." Butterfly chairs might be a dorm room essential these days, but let's not forget that Knoll put it on the map back in the day. Though the chair was originally designed by Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan & Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy in 1938, this chair was so popular that Hans Knoll included it in his eponymous catalogue from 1947 to 1951. Between the strategically placed cushions to the steel wire rod construction, Warren Platner's eponymous chair is comfortable and chic in equal measure. This iconic design might give off an effortless vibe, but each chair requires up to 1,000 welds.
Tulip Chair
All of which has made this practical domestic necessity, at its best, an emblem of status, style, and artistry. Designed in 1949, Finn Juhl's Chieftain Chair is considered one of the most important pieces to grace the Danish Modern movement of 1950s America. Organic and opulent in style, the Chieftain expresses Juhl's motivation to buck tradition and create a chair that transcended Denmark's penchant for producing purely functional furniture at that time. In 1957, Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha developed his iconic Paulistano Armchair to help furnish his design opus, the Paulistano Athletic Club in São Paulo.
Furniture
Also crafted for the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen by Arne Jacobsen in 1958, this pedestal lounge chair has also endured alongside its sister chair (the Egg chair). A similarly cocooning piece made of molded synthetic material on a steel-and-aluminum base that lets its sitters swivel on a 360-degree rotation, the Swan chair was a technological innovation in furniture design. A sitter that easily adapts to lobbies, lounges, and homes across the world, the Swan chair is still in production today at Fritz Hansen. We picked out chairs for our dream ski chalets, our grand dining rooms, and our cozy family rooms, considering iconic designers such as Pierre Jeanneret and Hans J. Wegner.
Related Articles
The perfect wingback chair for Modern design lovers, the Ro Chair, or "tranquillity" chair in Danish, was created by Spanish designer Jaime Hayón in 2013 for the Danish furniture company, Republic of Fritz Hansen. It's an extra-wide 1.5-seater version that was made to follow the natural curvature of the human body. The chair of choice for chic girls everywhere, the Flag Halyard chair put Hans Wegner on the map, alongside Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, for his mastery of chromium, an elemental metal used to harden steel. Speaking of comfort, you'll love the LC3 Grand Modele Armchair, which was Cassina's response to the typical club chair. Built in 1928, this option's steel frame is adorned with plush cushions, making you feel like you're sitting on cloud nine.
Eames Lounge Chair
Why stop at two chairs when the Eames Molded Plastic Side Chair basically defines midcentury modernism? Constructed in the 1950s, Eames' game-changing molded shell proves that chairs could be simple, sculptural, and mass-produced. (While that might seem like a no-brainer now, it was a huge realization back then.) Since then, the Eames Molded Plastic Side Chair has been reimagined in sustainable materials.
Egg Chair
At 2Modern, you’ll find all the top brands and styles to make your house a well-appointed home. In 1957, Eero Saarinen unveiled the now-famous Pedestal Collection, a series of chairs that are a solution to the “ugly, confusing, unrestful world” underneath tables and chairs. Among them, the Tulip chair stood out as a piece that eschewed the jumble of traditional chair legs with one sleek, tuliplike base. “A supremely elegant design, the Tulip armchair was one of the first serious attempts at creating a single-material, single-form chair,” Fiell explains.
Creating a contemporary outdoor hangout is easy with the variety of pieces available at 2Modern. Select outdoor dining tables, chairs, rug, lounge chairs, lighting, decor, and other elements to make your patio or pergola a more inviting and useful outdoor living and dining space. Used as a deck chair at Eileen Gray’s famous villa E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, the Transat chair has become one of the architect’s most enduring pieces.
Review: Ed Ruscha show wowed in New York. Why it’s even better in L.A.
Since then, this sleek style has become the crown jewel of Scandinavian design. While Emeco's Navy Chair was first built to be used on submarines back in 1944, it has become a welcomed addition to any room of the house. As if this option's sleek design isn't appealing enough, you'll be blown away by the intense 77-step process it takes to build this chair. According to Emeco, its craftsmen even hand forms and welds soft, recyclable aluminum. As the mastermind behind the Palace of Versailles, it's safe to say Louis XIV is known for his opulent edge. But, it turns out that the former king of France also has a great eye for chairs.
7 iconic mid-century chairs designed by Modernist architects - Tatler Taiwan
7 iconic mid-century chairs designed by Modernist architects.
Posted: Tue, 23 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Eames Lounge Chair Wood (LCW)
There can be a seat made out of a different material, or just the continuation of the grid wire. It’s ergonomic for sure, but if you’re looking for premium comfort, include a cushion. It has also been adapted into a more practical side chair without the side wings. Let’s take a look at some of the most iconic mid-century modern chairs that continue to be adored today.
Inspired by the boxy-looking gentleman’s club chairs of the 1920s, Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret designed this chair as part of an architectural commission for Le Corbusier’s design practice in Paris. The LC2 wears its bones on the exterior, flaunting a tubular steel exoskeleton that evokes the rationalized geometric forms and machine-age aesthetic of Le Corbusier’s architecture. Dubbed by Le Corbusier as the “cushion basket,” the Grand Confort LC2 is a clever way to contain cushions in an open frame—and an enduring icon of modernist style. As two of the most influential designers of all time, it's not too surprising that Charles and Ray Eames have more than one chair on this list. The duo revolutionized the chair world with the LCW Chair, which was made with heat, a bicycle pump, and a machine that molded plywood.
As a Mid-Century Modern architect, Breuer incorporated elements of the movement into the Wassily Chair, including a minimalist aesthetic and the use of angles and geometry. When tasked to design this chair for Florence Knoll in 1948, Eero Saarinen wanted to create "a chair that was like a basket full of pillows." Mission accomplished. Many mid-century designers preferred to create chairs that blended form and function.
It’s no wonder, with its being a definite favorite among the nearly 500 chairs Wegner designed in his lifetime. With its tall back and side panels that extend for each arm (believed to have been created in England in the 1600s to help shield drafts), the wingback chair is the ultimate, gloriously comfy, lounge seat. Be right back, you can find us in this bear of a chair with a book in hand. While its basic body-supporting functionality has hardly changed, the chair has seen countless interpretations that encompass ever-changing tastes and evolving materials, technologies, and ideologies.
