Grand Prix Chair
In 1957, Danish designer Arne Jacobsen created the Grand Prix chair for Fritz Hansen—two years after rising to furniture-design fame with his Series 7 chair and five years after his Ant chair was released in 1952. One thing I love about these chairs is that despite their unique shapes and identities, the way in which they are made is exactly the same except for one small step.
I had the opportunity, not too long ago, to visit the Fritz Hansen stackable chair factory, located just outside of Copenhagen in the Danish countryside, and see the Series 7 chairs being made (a story we’re featuring in our September issue this fall). The sole difference between manufacturing a Grand Prix, Series 7, or Ant chair is the cutting pattern that the factory-floor worker selects on the CNC machine, which cuts the rough molded-plywood forms to shape. The rest is identical.
At the Fritz Hansen factory outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, rough molded-plywood forms are cut using a CNC machine into Grand Prix, Ant, or, as show here, Series 7 chairs.
This year, as part of its 2009 collection, Fritz Hansen is reintroducing the Grand Prix chair—originally called the 3130 but changed after its design won the Grand Prix award at the Triennale in Milan. Though the Grand Prix chairs look great grouped together, for me, this series of molded plywood chairs make the perfect palette for mixing and matching.
Products
-
Arne Jacobsen Utensils
You’d be hard pressed to find a more visually striking set. These classics are still as palatable today as in 1957, when Arne Jacobsen designed them. Feed your inner film geek: Notorious…
-
Wallpaper by the Yard
Intrigued by the prospect of papering but not quite ready to commit to an entire wall? Artist Julia Rothman has done a great collection for Hygge and West that's available by the yard, which can be…
-
Covered Wooden Sandbox By Tierra Derco
We live in an urban, mixed-use neighborhood, and what we don’t have in the way of a yard we more than make up for with our super-huge deck. While a walk to the park is almost always nice…
Video
-
Snøhetta's SFMOMA Expansion
This video shows the latest from Norwegian super-firm Snøhetta's expansion plans for SFMOMA in San Francisco. I attended the press preview on November 30th and heard from both the SFMOMA brass and…
Events
-
Anthony Vidler with Architects Hitoshi Abe, Eric Owen Moss, Wolf Prix, and Others
Historian and critic Anthony Vidler will discuss the work of both Schindler and Neutra, and will then preside over a panel discussion with architects Hitoshi Abe, Peter Cook, Eric Owen Moss, Thom…
-
Lecture: Wolf D. Prix on the theme “Camminare Nella Storia - Beyond The Blue”
Born in Vienna in 1942, Wolf D. Prix studied architecture at the Technische Universität in Vienna, the Architectural Association in London, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture in…
Advertising
Advertising
Advertising
Related Products
-
Arne Jacobsen Utensils
by Arne JacobsenYou’d be hard pressed to find a more…
-
Wallpaper by the Yard
by Julia RothmanIntrigued by the prospect of papering but not…
-
Covered Wooden Sandbox By Tierra Derco
We live in an urban, mixed-use neighborhood, and…
Latest
-
02.09
An Architecture Guide to Pyongyang
German architect and writer Philipp Meuser realizes that…
-
02.08
Fair Chairs
We continue our coverage of the 2012 Stockholm Furniture and…
-
02.07
Seven from Stockholm Design Week
It's about mid-way through the 2012 Stockholm Design Week and…
Follow
Dwell
-
Thanks, @dailytekk, for including @dwell on your list of 100 Best, Most Interesting Blogs & Websites! http://t.co/hbMnDiTO #design
-
Was Mario Manningham's Super Bowl catch a work of #architecture? http://t.co/zxD47gN1
-
“@archpaper: Move over Ice Cube, Moby jams to #architecture, launches new blog about Los Angeles: http://t.co/eVKNB5WK”
-
What does the #architecture of Pyongyang look like? Just interviewed the guy who wrote the guide book http://t.co/qA6Pm0Nm
The Midcentury Show curated by Modern Shows In association with Elle Decoration Sunday 10th May 2009 De la Warr Pavilion East Sussex TN40 1DP UK £5, children free, disabled access www.modernshows.com 30 top midcentury dealers selling furniture and design for the home.
RSS Feed
Add a Comment