One of the principles on which the school of craftsmanship, design, art and architecture 'Staatliche Bauhaus' was founded by Walter Adolph Georg Gropius in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, incites in a manifesto: 'The revival of craft methods in building activity, raising the power of craftsmanship to the same level as the Fine Arts and attempting to market products which, integrated into industrial production, would become affordable consumer objects for the general public. '
This principle explains a lot about how and why pieces of furniture were designed in the last century that still furnish our homes. What is their secret? A design that takes care of the technique uses suitable materials and develops timeless forms that fit any style or environment. Another Bauhaus principle: 'Form follows function.
And that's why in Richardson Seating, we wanted to find these examples of representative furniture of the twentieth century that in the twenty-first century does not go out of fashion and will not go out of style for a long time.
BKF Armchair
Also known as the 'Mariposa' chair, this armchair was designed by the architects of the Austral Group, Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan, and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy, in Buenos Aires in 1938.
Its tubular steel structure of 12 mm diameter is covered with baked leather to shape the backrest and seat. Its simplicity and lightness are achieved by integrating technique and craftsmanship in a functional and timeless design that has been considered an icon of modern furniture for almost 80 years.
This chair won first place in the First Salon of Artists and Decorators of Buenos Aires in 1943 and, in 1951, became part of the permanent collection of the MoMA.
Eames Lounge Chair
Ray and Charles Eames were inspired by the old English gentlemen's club armchairs and, in 1956, but this model on sale: a modernized version of the armchairs emphasizing comfort, premium materials, and exceptional artistry. Wood and leather merge to provide elegance and comfort—an ergonomic armchair with a skirting board.
The lounge chair developed by the Eames couple has become a drawer piece for any collector in the world for several years.
Barcelona Chair
Created together with an ottoman and a side table with similar characteristics, the Barcelona chair by Mies Van der Rohe was born with one purpose: to inhabit the German pavilion at the International Exposition in Barcelona in 1929. The ancient thrones of Roman magistrates inspired its shape. And although it was originally made of bolted stainless steel and pigskin, in 1950, it was redesigned for mass production: the steel structure is made in one piece, giving the work neat lines. Its proportions, elegant materials, and simplicity made it an icon of the modern movement flirting with sculptural design.
Coconut Chair
Designed by George Nelson for Herman Miller in 1955, this chair, as its name suggests, is inspired by the shape of a coconut, at least a quarter of a coconut. However, the colors are reversed: the shell, which is dark in color, now covers the back and seat, while the white pulp covers the outer surface. Designed in a single piece and colored skin, three tubular stainless steel legs support this piece, whose shape allows for excellent freedom of movement.
Egg Armchair
The Danish architect Arne Jacobsen created this model in the sixties, seeking to create a one-piece chair. Unfortunately, the only material that could be adapted to his creation to shape the seat, backrest, and supports in one piece was plastic. By giving it a shell shape, he solved the problem proposed by Jacobsen while a metallic structure helps the piece and allows a soft rocking while we sit comfortably accompanied by a cushion.
LCW Chair
The Plywood Group collection, the result of Ray and Charles Eames' experimentation with three-dimensional molded plywood, is considered by Time magazine to be 'the best design of the 20th century'. This model was created in 1946, demonstrating that design is not necessarily at odds with mass production and comfort.
Eames Plastic Armchair DAW
Under the motto 'the most of the best for the most people for the least, this collection of chairs by Ray and Charles Eames was born in North America: the Eames Plastic Chairs. Under the Bauhaus principle, they were designed to participate in the 'Low Cost Furniture Design' competition launched by the Museum of ModLow-Costin New York, in 1948. Although they did not win the first prize, their models gained popularity and soon became a reference of modern industrial design.
Eames Plastic Side Chair DSW
Following on from the previous version, the new DSW chair was initially made of fiberglass, a collaboration between the Eames couple and Zenith Plastics. And they came up with the first industrially manufactured plastic chairs. Nowadays, they are made of polypropylene and can be found with a wooden or metal frame.
Chair 3107
Also known as 'Series 7', its author Arne Jacobsen shaped this chair for the Danish furniture factory Fritz Hansen. In 1955 alone, six million pieces were made, which testify to its quality. This wooden chair made its debut at the H55 exhibition in Sweden.
PH Lamp 3½-3
Designed by architect Poul Henningsen, this lamp is unusual, not only in name. Its creator was an eccentric furniture designer, art critic, cabaret songwriter, and one of the most famous lamp designers of the 20th century. His cooperation with Paul Poulsen resulted in the great collection of PH lamps, still icons of Scandinavian design today.