14 chairs that made the history of design, which also brilliantly and uniquely represent significant moments in the greater history of our world.

In 1957, German celebrity architect Mies van der Rohe, an eminent member of the Bauhaus, told Time Magazine: “ The chair is a very difficult object to design. Anyone who tried to draw one knows that. There are endless possibilities and many problems: the chair must be light, it must be robust, it must be comfortable. It’s almost easier to build a skyscraper than a chair.”

Yet virtually no architect, designer or craftsman has escaped his conception. Perhaps because it is indeed the most difficult challenge, combining in itself technology, aesthetics and innovation. The chair is probably also the object in which function and aesthetics are reflected more than in any other design product: its essential feature - to support the body of a person who does not stand still, but on the contrary, gets up, rocks, leans on it - is all one with the lines and shapes that define its aspect.

Chairs have been a major source of inspiration for designers of all times. They’ve sparked imagination, creativity, and innovation. They commanded the exploration of new styles, and the experimenting with various materials and different production methods, from traditional materials like wood, to steel and aluminum, to futuristic materials like polypropylene, tech-polymers, polycarbonate, and carbon fibre.

Chairs tell the story of humanity. The way they’re designed, the materials they’re made from, and how they’re shaped all show the style of a specific time in history and of a broader historical context.

N.14 - Gebrüder Thonet Vienna
1860

The chair of chairs. The great classic. The most known, and sold, product. Designed by Michael Thonet in 1860, the No.14, or simply Thonet, was created to furnish the Café Daum, an elegant and modern new establishment that opened in Vienna that same year. Minimalist in the use of materials and in the number of pieces it’s made up of, only six, the n.14 is the result of twenty years of technological research. Made from skilfully steam- curved pieces of solid beech wood, the Thonet was the first to have a backrest and back legs coming from a single piece of wood, forming one elegant curve. This chair is often seen as the very first example of industrial design because it was the first to be mass-produced.

www.gebruederthonetvienna.com

Chaise A - Tolix
1934

Also known as Marais a chair, French Tolix chair model A is the first industrial stackable chair. It was conceived in 1934 by visionary French metalworker Xavier Pauchard, who invented steel galvanising for the furniture industry in 1907 and founded the Tolix metal furniture factory in 1927. The model A chair w
In 1956 the classic Tolix was created: With a thinner structure, it was possible to stack 25 chairs up to a height of 2.3 meters. The chair was created with the idea that design elegance, comfort and strength could coexist in a single product. It soon became the favourite chair in cafes and retro kitchens around the world. It was also used to beautify the decks of ocean liner Normandy in 1935, and it crowded the corridors of the Exposition Internationale - Arts et techniques in 1937.

www.tolix.nl

Luisa – Cassina
Design Franco Albini
1939-1955

Credits: Luisa chair by Franco Albini
Cassina iMaestri collection, ph. De Pasquale + Maffini

The Luisa armchair is the result of fifteen years of research, focused on the creation of an archetype that could identify the essential elements of the chair and its possible uses in the domestic space. An ideal model, in which Italian architect and designer Franco Albini fully expresses the poetry of “substance in form” by increasing the thickness of the single wooden elements joining the different parts. After several improvements, the final version presented in 1955 earned its creator the Compasso d’Oro ADI award. The design is quite simple yet rather ingenious. The seat and backrest are like two flat shapes hanging on a thin wooden frame with trestle sides

cassina.com

Eames Plastic Chair DSW – Vitra
Design Charles & Ray Eames
1950

The Eames chair was created in 1948 by Charles & Ray Eames at the International Competition for Low-cost Supplies Design, organised by MOMA in New York. The design was born with the intention of creating an object that was highly practical and useful. Eames embodies the philosophy of the two designers: obtaining the maximum from the minimum. Their goal was to focus on mass production with an object that could be used by everyone in any environment and in any context. Its absolute adaptability, ease of cleaning and its robustness are the reason for its success even today, as it stands as a true icon as well as one of the most copied and imitated models in the world.
vitra.com

Tulip - Knoll
Design Eero Saarinen
1957

What inspired this chair, designed by Finnish- American architect Ero Saarinen for Knoll is the designer’s obsession with purity. Tulip originates from the desire to eliminate the “ugly, confused, restless world” created by the tangle of legs under and around the table. Tulip sees the light after five years of design efforts as part of the Pedestal collection, centred around a single central pedestal, a cup base surmounted by a shell that recalls the flower that gave it its name.
When the chair was put into production in 1958, Saarinen was only partly satisfied because it was not produced from a single mould and different materials, which contradicted his “one piece, one material” motto.The base was made of cast metal because at that time plastic was not able to withstand the weight of an adult.

https://www.knoll-int.com/home

699 Superleggera chair – Cassina
Design Gio Ponti
1957

Credits: 699 Superleggera chair by Gio Ponti - Cassina iMaestri Collection, ph. Valentina Sommariva

Since its launch in 1957, the 699 Superleggera wooden chair embodies a unique fusion of Gio Ponti’s innovative exploration and Cassina’s avant-garde experimentation. It stands as an unequivocal symbol of modernity, artistry and craftsmanship. The chair’s design feat lies in the triangular leg cross-section, measuring a mere 18 mm, and an astonishingly minimal weight of just 1,700 grams. It is so incredibly lightweight that it can be effortlessly lifted with a single finger, as demonstrated by the child featured in the iconic advertising poster that introduced this masterpiece to the world.

This chair represents a harmonious fusion of artisanal craftsmanship and industrial ingenuity, drawing inspiration from the traditional Ligurian keys. The initial version, available in natural ash with options for black or white lacquer finishes and a woven rattan cane seat, underwent a captivating evolution over time. It now boasts a vibrant array of colourful variations, featuring upholstered seats, in addition to exclusive special editions.

cassina.com

Panton Chair – Vitra
Design Verner Panton
1967

Designed in the mid-1950s and produced by Vitra in 1967, the Panton Chair by Danish designer Verner Panton is the first chair made entirely of plastic, using a single mould. The first models were produced in polyester reinforced with fibroresin, an inexpensive and strong material. It was subsequently made using rigid polyurethane foam, now used to produce the Panton Chair Classic with a glossy surface, in addition to the Panton Chair version made of polypropylene with a matt finish. One of Panton’s key goals had finally been achieved: making the plastic chair an affordable industrial product.The form of this chair is fluid and features anthropomorphic design elements, meticulously crafted to embrace and mirror the contours of the human body. This distinctive quality, coupled with the choice of materials and its remarkable adaptability, constitutes the primary factors that made this stackable chair a 20th-century design icon.

vitra.com

Universale – Kartell
Design Joe Colombo
1967

Kartell courtesy

The Universale chair by Joe Colombo is the first plastic chair for adults, produced in ABS. Its design began in 1965 but due to technical difficulties in creating the mould, its production only started in 1967. The structure, with a single backrest and seat element and legs applied by pressure, has several elements to it that made its production rather difficult. The first one being the “hole”: it would greatly complicate the moulding because it could weaken the entire structure, yet it was the detail that characterised it aesthetically and was also functional for a better grip in handling the chair. A second aspect was the choice of materials, which had to be humidity proof for outdoors use. This is why Kartell had to employ different materials over the years, Initially ABS and then nylon, which in the long run didn’t prove that resistant to atmospheric agents and was therefore replaced with polypropylene. In 2012, after 45 years of uninterrupted production, it was taken out of the catalog.
kartell.com

.03 chair - Vitra
Design Maarten Van Severen
1998

The .03 chair, was Maarten Van Severen’s first chair produced by Vitra. It became one of his most famous pieces. Van Seeveren’s projects are characterised by a rigorous form, the result of in- depth research and a design process that seeks the essence through gradual reduction and refinement. The distinctive aesthetic feature of the .03 chair is about its sober and slender shape, a design that perfectly expresses the concept of ‘less is more’. Despite the rather austere tubular steel structure, the chair is at the same time unexpectedly comfortable: the shell, made of high strength polyurethane foam, adapts to the body. The shell also hides ingenious mechanisms: the backrest is flexible thanks to integrated composite springs that make the .03 one of the most comfortable and versatile chairs around.

vitra.com

Louis Ghost – Kartell
Design Philippe Stark
2002

Kartell courtesy

Louis Ghost is one of the world’s bravest examples of injecting polycarbonate into a single mould without any joints. A seat inspired by the lines of the Louis XV armchair, the archetype of baroque, that Philippe Starck reinterpreted with the intent to amaze, excite, and fascinate. Despite the evanescent and crystal- like appearance, Louis Ghost is stable and durable, shock-proof and weatherproof, stackable to up to six units. A product with a strong charisma and remarkable aesthetic appeal, perfect in any context, domestic or public.
Today the production process has been updated and the Louis Ghost chair is made from a kind of polycarbonate deriving largely from industrial waste cellulose and ISCC* certified paper (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification).
kartell.com

Chair_One – Magis
Design Konstantin Grcic
2003

The idea to leverage the potential of die-cast aluminum – a technology that produces complex three-dimensional metal shapes - to create a new seat characterised by three-dimensional geometry fascinated German designer Konstantin Grcic and led to the creation of Chair_One.
The seat shell is composed of a number of perforated triangular facets, with the design recalling a football: the three-dimensional shape is obtained by assembling flat surfaces facing each other at an angle.The result is a chair in which the empty spaces take over the entire aesthetic: innovative and futuristic to the point of making Chair_One an iconic product.
magisdesign.com

Snow - Pedrali
Design Odo Fioravanti
2008

Credits: Chalet Pinocchio (Brentonico) à Ph. Carlo
Baroni Marina de Empresas (Valencia) à Ph. David
Frutos; Project by ERRE Arquitectura

The playful and clean shape, the versatility in adapting to outdoor and indoor environments, the stackable design all made the Snow collection of polypropylene seats designed by Odoardo Fioravanti a new classic. Presented at the Salone del Mobile in 2008, it won first prize of young&design.
The chair is made of polypropylene filled with fibre glass and injection moulded using gas air moulding technology, which makes it solid and lightweight at the same time.
pedrali.com

Masters – Kartell
Design Philippe Starck
2010

Kartell courtesy

The Masters chair is a vibrant tribute to three iconic chairs, emblems of contemporary design, reinterpreted by the creative genius of Philippe Starck: the Series 7 by Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen’s Tulip Armchair and Charles Eames’ Eiffel Chair weave their unmistakable silhouettes into a winding hybrid, the fusion of original and captivating styles.
by the curving intersection of the three different backrests, which merge into the perimeter of the seat. Lightweight, practical and comfortable, Masters is extremely versatile and can also be used outdoors.
kartell.com

Apelle - Midj
Design Beatriz Sampere
2013

Clear and simple lines conveying joy and lightheartedness and reaching people’s hearts. But also greatly comfortable and pleasing to the eye. These are the distinctive traits of the Apelle chair, designed by Beatriz Sampere, a Spanish designer and the creator of the Apelle collection for Midj. The Apelle chair and its family offer a cozy and comfortable seating experience. They are constructed using strong, high-quality materials such as metal and leather. These materials ensure durability and flexibility, meeting rigorous production standards. The chair features a steel sled base that can be customised with glossy or matte finishes. Also, there is a choice of twenty different colours for the leather seat and back, including Tuscan leather. This allows for a high level of personalisation to match one’s style and preferences.
midj.com

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