Chairs Up, Moving On

Since my arrival on Twitter in 2007,  I've had a dynamic avatar that shared my enjoyment of diverse chair designs. They're a part of our daily life that most people don't think about very much. I hope my sharing of a variety of models from famous designers of the past 150 yrs has been enjoyable to for Twitter followers and the occasional person who dug a little further to come here to this blog-type thing.

With the demise of Twitter seeming likely for a while now, I've been cultivating an alternative presence on Mastodon for a couple of years. As of November 2022 I find that most of my online social media attention is there now, and Twitter seems to be self destructing under poor new management.

My avatar on Masto reflects my enthusiasm for a nicely-designed coffee mug, about which I'm somewhat opinionated as well.  Not sure what I'll do about that yet. But meanwhile I've elected to leave my "chairvatar" history behind me.    

I hope you'll connect on Mastodon and the greater "Fediverse" ecosystem of which it is a part, if or when you migrate over there.  I will pop into Twitter occasionally out of a morbid interest in how these last weeks or months play out for the site.  I might do a posted series of these selected chair favourites on Mastodon - so watch that space for some re-runs.

For now, I share this as my final chair presentation.  I haven't identified the specific model that is popped up on top of the table in this image.  Descriptively it is a combination plywood and solid birch ladder-back dining or classroom chair.  It has bent plywood legs in the style of Finn designer Alvar Aalto, so may well be one of his designs. Aalto was active in the 1920s – '60s and was influenced by greats like Thonet, Saarinen and the Eames duo.  I'll update this note if I discover the designer.

Thanks for visiting. Find me at mastodon.social/@ottaross.  Hope to seat you around some time.

Model 21 Outdoor Chair

Fresh for my 2021 avatar update is an outdoor chair that is very similar to those I'm quite fond of in the parks of Paris.  In the Jardin du Luxembourg chairs similar to these are scattered everywhere for the casual use of the huge throngs of people that spend time in the park every day. 

This Model21 chair by Modello USA has a slightly more rounded shape, and updated casual feel.  

They are built on a metal tube frame with die-cast aluminum slatted seats and back. A slightly wider seat than the Parisian models at 21-inches wide are comfortable and "invite multiple postures" say the brochures.

Designed for outdoor use, they are stackable and tough, which seems a suitable image for 2021.  We will need to be adaptable, tough and comfortable with spending a lot of time away from others. We may as well have a comfortable seat that works with those constraints.

 

Broken Upholstered Barrel-Back Wing Chair

My Twitter avatar has gone unchanged for several years, with the Breuer Cesca chair in the place of honour.  Given the annus horribilis that is 2020, upon seeing this broken down, exhausted chair go by online, I immediately thought it would be the perfect update for my chairvatar.

In the pantheon of 19th century lounge or parlour furniture it is probably the upholstered wing back chair that sits at the centre.  I'm no expert in the genre, but this would probably be classified as a barrel-backed wing chair with Queen Anne legs.

This broken-down, tired, 20th-century-replica specimen seems like a good symbol of the year so far… and probably for a while ahead of us as well.  Hang in there everyone, and hope for brighter days ahead.

(Tried to follow the pic back to the source, but it's thoroughly disconnected from the original photographer by social media. Will happily credit if ID'd)

Marcel Breuer's Cesca Chair Classic

In the heart of the Bauhaus movement, in 1928, famed designer and architect Marcel Breuer created a simple form of bent tubular steel, beech framing and hand-woven cane.  The Cesca chair (pronounced "cheska") is a classic among classics. Many of us still see this model on a regular basis as we make our ways through the world.  There are many variations, with and without arms, with all manner of upholstery and synthetic materials for the seat, back and arms. But the form is unmistakable. Breuer was reportedly inspired by the structure of bicycles and their use of tubular steel.

The design made the most of modern materials of the time.  The cantilever of the seat and arms takes a frame that seems wispy thin and insubstantial and supports all the weight of the user on a couple of simple, gracefully radiused bends. In the original cane version, the light through the back and seat make them appear similarly ethereal.  Cescas were produced by big guys like Knoll and Thonet. But over the years many knock-offs emerged. There was some debate over who was first-to-conceive of tubular-steel for chairs, so it a patent wasn't pursued.

The Cesca was named after the designer's daughter Francesca.

I bought a pair of used Cescas for $13 each a few years ago, and donated them to a local charity shop when I didn't need them for my office anymore.  I'm a bit nostalgic now though, and think I should probably have one around, just to look at occasionally.  But a visit to a bank or an office, or a friend's home and I'll probably see one off to the side, doing yeoman's service as they have for nearly 100yrs.  

Hoffmann's Fledermaus Cabaret Chair

Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement during a visit to the UK in 1902,  Josef Hoffmann sought to develop a chair that embodied geometric simplicity plus bold styling.  His Fledermaus chair was designed for the Cabaret Fledermaus in Vienna, and was well received.  There were matching tables and a version with a brightly coloured (yellow!) stuffed leather seat and back.  Another version tagged the Cafe Fledermaus has cloth seat.  The 'ball' details at the prominent joints add a touch of style, and probably provide a convenient break-off projectile during a bar fight.  

There were both white and black lacquered versions, and both the upholstered back and this open ladder-back structure.  The wood is reportedly beech. It was introduced in 1906

Hoffmann was a prominent Austrian architect and designer who embraced a new modernism for the 20th century. He appears to be reasonably well received at the time, but in the late 1950s gained greater popularity during the midcentury period when his pieces again resonated with the design aesthetic of the time. Rather ahead of his time.  His Kubus armchair wouldn't look out of place at your local furniture shop.  His Sitzmaschine chair looks slightly Frank Lloyd Wright, slightly early-German anti-aircraft gun.

Rowland's 40/4 Chair

This stackable chair is one we see often – in North America, at any rate.  David Rowland debuted this simple, sturdy and reasonably comfortable utilitarian chair in 1964, and won numerous awards for its design.  It was patented in 1960.

Rowland was a Californian who served in B17 bombers in WWII, and probably knew a thing or two about comfort in the seated position after those long flights.

As a commercial interiors designer after the war, he was reportedly industrious and inventive.  His 40/4 chair was so-named because you could stack 40 of them in a 4 foot-high stack.  There is lots of documented praise for the design, with one "Interior Design" review saying it was “the most universally useful chair ever made and accomplished with the least expenditure of material and labor."

Rowland died in 2010 (NYT Obit). His 40/4 chair is part of MoMA's permanent collection, though not displayed, and their catalog entry is rather lacking.

Axelsson's "Akustik" Chair

It's a bare-bones chair silhouette, with simple lines and functional design. But Sweden's Åke Axelsson, adds a slight curve in the arm supports, and an angle to the rear legs that give the chair a bit of punch. (The Akustik II takes it a bit further).  The 1940s and 50s trained designer marries crisp
design with a strong colour palette. There are a number of variants from a nicely-proportioned mini version, to a tall stool, to an arm-less design.  It's a family of chairs that references the ur-chair of modern design.  Axelsson helps to define the Swedish style and functional approach to furniture.

The design is apparently enviro-friendly as well. And there's a leather seat option I'd love to try out.

Another notable Axelsson design in his "Wood" chair, featured in this DesignBoom article.  It's like he's reduced the chair down to its essence, then flat-packed it.  Clearly a homage to the 19th century Thonet No. 14 chair, and an improvement that likely makes the latter's uncomfortable back less so.