It is perhaps one of the most copied designs in the world. First, we will tell you its history and designer: Alvar Aalto.
Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto is recognized as one of the masters of the modern movement. Yet, curiously, his most famous piece is a humble stool of simple construction and economy of ideas that have gone down in history as an example of perfect design. Learn a little more about its history and its creator. Alvar Aalto's legacy is fundamentally distinguished for being a softened, expressive, organic, friendly, and not very strict version of the modern movement, as well as for the profuse use of wood, the local material par excellence that he knew how to take to heights of expression that bordered on art. Among his most important architectural works are the Paimio sanatorium (1933), the Vyborg Library (1935), the Finnish pavilions at the Paris and New York expos (1937 and 1939), and the Mairea villa (1939).
Stool 60 is a 1933 design representing the quintessence of functionalism: stackable, originally with three legs and a circular seat. Its surface is large enough to be used as a side table, as seen here. Eventually, a four-legged version saw the light of day on the market under the name E60. Both versions may be the most copied piece in the history of design.
The 60 stool is made with legs in natural birch wood and the seat in birch laminate - a wood with particular strength and elasticity. It is also available in two versions, fully lacquered in white or black. It is also available with a colored seat in multiple versions: white laminate, black linoleum, or lacquered in white, black, orange, yellow, green, and turquoise. It is supplied flat and requires assembly. One of the great attractions of the 60 stool is that it is stackable and stackable in a beautiful way. When stacked in groups, it even forms spiral towers: an effect produced by the intersection of the legs. The result is very sculptural and visually attractive.
The 60 stool has been a bestseller since it was first produced in 1933. A few years ago, it was already said that over a million copies had been released. The affordable price and the lack of space in contemporary homes have contributed to the success of this piece.
It is a design that can be used in any room of the house, from the bathroom to the bedroom, the kitchen or the living room and, being light and easy to transport, it can be taken outdoors without any problem. To produce his designs, Alvar Aalto founded in 1935 with his wife, Aino Marsio, the furniture company that still has this piece today: Artek. Another of his creations, the Paimio armchair - designed for the sanatorium - features a two-arm structure and two thin wooden leaves on which the seat rests, consisting of a curved wooden slat: a masterpiece of 20th-century design.