Oh the Modernity!

Follia Chair by Guiseppe Terragni

Dave — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:01:41 +0000

Guiseppe Terragni’s Follia Chair is constructed of a painted wood seating frame and backrest with sprung stainless steel connectors. The Follia Chair was designed for the Casa del Fascio, the Italian Fascist headquarters in Como. The chair is manufactured by Italian design company Zanotta.

George Nelson Marshmallow Sofa

Dave — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:35:36 +0000

The George Nelson Marshmallow Sofa was designed by Nelson and Irving Harper in 1954. As you can see from the picture, the Marshmallow Sofa is considered one of the most unconventional sofas in design history. The sofa abandons the traditional form and instead adopts 18 adjoined cushions and a very simple steel structure. Sofas can even be attached to one another with a connecting element, which enables the sofas to be assembled in very long configurations if desired.

The Marshmallow Sofa is often said to be ahead of its time both aesthetically and technically. The original manufacturing run of the sofa was not very long and did not include many units. However, the design was reintroduced into the Vitra catalogue in 1999. The sofa can be found in many solid colors, as well as the multicolored version featured above.

Genni Chair by Gabriele Mucchi

Dave — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:20:03 +0000

The Genni Chair was designed in 1935 by Gabriele Mucchi and is constructed of a chromed tubular steel frame with steel spring and leather armrests, leather upholstered seat cushion and headrest. The chair can be adjusted so that one can sit in two different positions. Italian company Zanotta currently manufactures the Genni.

Chieftain Chair by Finn Juhl

Dave — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:13:48 +0000

The Chieftain Chair was designed by Danish designed Finn Juhl in 1949. The chair was named after King Frederik IX, and the chair was originally commissioned in a limited run of 78 for the Danish consulates. The chair features a rosewood frame with leather covered upholstered seat and chair back. The Chieftain was originally put into production in 1949 in Neil Vodder’s workshop and was constructed in the cabinetmaker’s tradition. Today, you will be very lucky to find a Chieftain Chair in good condition, and will most likely find them at auction.

Rene Herbst Sandows Chair

Dave — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:55:20 +0000

Rene Herbst designed the Sandows chair in 1928-1929. The designer utilized chromed tubular steel for the frame and elasticated straps for the seat and chair back. The effect is an attractive chair that you can find in colors like black, yellow, and red, although it may be difficult to find this chair today. As an icon of modern design, the Herbst Sandows chair is also offered in Vitra’s line of miniatures.

Grand Confort Chair by Le Corbusier

Dave — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:04:32 +0000

The Grand Confort chair by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand is constructed with a chromed bent tubular steel frame with leather upholstered cushions. There are several versions of the Grand Confort chair designed by Le Corbusier, each in the same style but with different forms designed for different purposes. The chair pictured above is the LC2 Grand Confort chair, designed in 1928. These chairs exude the International Style and are luxurious and comfortable. These chairs are currently manufactured by Cassina.

More pictures of other Grand Confort chairs after the jump.

Grand Confort (LC2)

MR Adjustable Chaise Lounge by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Dave — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:34:37 +0000

The MR Adjustable Chaise Lounge by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe has become one of the icons of modern design. The adjustable chaise lounge was inspired by Marcel Breur’s use of tubular steel in works like the Wassily Chair. Van der Rohe utilized this tubular steel, a material that had been known as strictly utilitarian, and fused it into a design featuring luxurious padded leather and clean lines. As a result, the MR Adjustable Chaise Lounge became a staple of modern minimalistic design.

Italian furniture company Knoll is the only company currently licensed to manufacture the MR Adjustable Chaise Lounge and the rest of the van der Rohe Collection.

Sitzgeiststuhl by Heinz & Bodo Rasch

Dave — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:11:33 +0000

The “Sitzgeiststuhl” was a chair designed by Heinz & Bodo Rasch. It was constructed of lacquered laminated and solid wood. This chair is thought to be Heinz and Bodo’s interpretation of Mart Stam’s cantilever chair.

Today it is all but impossible to find this chair, but it is featured in Vitra’s popular miniature line of chairs. Featuring some of the most influential modern furniture designs in collectible miniature form.

Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer

Dave — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:03:49 +0000

The Wassily Chair was designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925-26. While many believe that the chair (originally known as the Model B3 chair) was designed for painter Wassily Kandinsky, this is not the case. Although Breuer designed the chair during a period of time when Kandinsky was also in the Bauhaus, its design was not influenced by the painter. After the original chair was designed and fabricated, Kandinsky was known to have admired it, and Breuer fabricated a duplicate for Kandinsky’s quarters. The chair was originally manufactured in the 1920s by furniture company Thonet under the name Model B3. “Wassily Chair” was used as the official name for the chair after Gavina acquired the license to manufacture the chair. Today, the Wassily Chair is manufactured and sold by Knoll. The chair can be found with leather and canvas upholstery.

It should also be noted that the Wassily Chair’s use of tubular steel was very innovative and very influential in the furniture world.

Walter Gropius D51 Armchair and Sofa

Dave — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:16:57 +0000

In 1910 Walter Gropius established his own design practice and joined the Deutscher Werkbund, an association of German artists,architects, designers, and industrialists. That sameyear, he designed this sofa and armchair set, which was supposed to be Gropius’ solution to the Deutscher Werkbund’s debate over whether standardization and creative expression could be reconciled in design. As the pictures show, Gropius’ designs combine a beautiful aesthetic with a relatively simple structure that could be standardized and easily reproduced.

More pictures after the jump.