Our edit of the most impor tant chair designs to come out of Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries
209 BENTWOOD ARMCHAIR, 1900
An evolution of the company’s earlier 214 chair, no. 209 is made from just six steam-bent solid wood parts, making it a masterpiece of engineering and enabling it to be produced economically at scale. Its curves have influenced countless designers, including Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who used it in several of his buildings and remarked that the chair ‘possesses nobility’.
1. RED AND BLUE CHAIR, 1918
Red and Blue chair blurs the lines between art and furniture. Amember of the Dutch De Stijl movement, Gerrit broke away from traditional design, creating a new style of construction with non-intersecting horizontal and vertical planes.
2. BIBENDUM CHAIR, 1926
Wittily named after the mascot of Michelin tyre company, ‘Monsieur Bibendum’, and his well-padded rolls, Eileen’s Bibendum chair is a modernist icon, deftly contrasting a sleek bent tubular frame with voluptuous upholstery.
3. CESCA CHAIR, 1928
Famously inspired by the bicycle he rode around while teaching at the Bauhaus school, Marcel designed a suite of furniture using bent tubular steel. The chair went on to be one of his most successful pieces thanks to its revolutionary design and mix of industrial and natural materials.
4. STOOL 60, 1933
The secret of the Stool 60’s success lies in its innovative – and deceptively simple – ‘L-leg’ system, a solid bent-wood component that allowed the legs to be attached directly to the underside of a seat without additional support. This system led Alvar and his wife, Aino, to found Artek in 1935.
5. MODEL A CHAIR, 1934
A celebration of industrial craft and aesthetics, Model A was designed for indoor and outdoor use thanks to its innovative zinc galvanising technique, which protected it from rusting. In 1956, a tweak to the design enabled up to 25 chairs to be stacked, making it a hit with restaurants and cafes globally.
6. PELICAN CHAIR, 1940
Presented at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition in 1940, the Pelican was ahead of its time, becoming instantly famous due its unusual shape, but it wasn’t put into production until 2001. Ergonomic curves hug the body and offer several comfortable ways to sit. →
1. CH24 CHAIR, 1949
Synonymous with Danish design, the CH24 (nicknamed Wishbone) has been in production since 1950. Its minimal form was the result of Hans’ decision to combine the back and armrest into one piece, adding the Y-shaped support for strength. Today there are 33 variants.
2. 675 CHAIR, 1952
Robin believed design could make the
