Not on display

Chair One

Chair
2002 (designed), 2006 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Magis S.p.A. (manufacturer)
Grcic, Konstantin (designer)
Place of origin
Munich (designed)
Italy (manufactured)

The significance of Chair One derives from its striking linear form, the product of a logical examination of the necessary structure for a chair, reduced to its minimum elements. It is like a two-dimensional drawing of a chair, rendered into three dimensions. The angular, graphic aesthetic, like a wire-frame drawing, was quite new in the early 2000s and in part arose from the use of CAD (computer aided design). With Chair One the designer Konstantin Grcic introduced a new paradigm into the design vocabulary of contemporary furniture, that of the crystal or fractal, and influenced many other designers. Chair One was originally intended primarily as public outdoor seating and spawned a whole family of variants including beam seating and outdoor chairs on concrete cone bases.

Object details

Category
Furniture
Object type
Chair
TitleChair One (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Cast and extruded aluminium
Aluminium
Casting
Extrusion
Brief description
Chair One, cast and extruded aluminium, painted red; designed by Konstantin Grcic, 2002, manufactured by Magis, Italy, 2006
Physical description
Chair with oblong section brushed aluminium feet terminating with grey plastic inserted feet, supporting a red painted cast aluminium one-piece seat and back in the form of an open lattice.
Dimensions
  • Height: 820mm
  • Width: 555mm
  • Depth: 590mm
Measured from the object
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'CHAIR_ONE/Konstantin Grcic' (Cast into the underside of the proper left front edge of the seat)
  • 'MAGIS/MADE IN ITALY' (Cast into the underside of the proper right front edge of the seat)
Gallery label
(21/04/2002-09/06/2002)
Milan in a Van label:

Public One chair
Die cast aluminium, concrete
2002

Designed by Konstantin Grcic (German, born 1965)
Grcic studied cabinet-making at Parnham College and completed his MA in Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art in 1990. His thoughtful and intelligent designs transcend the merely fashionable products of many of his peers. Achille Castiglioni said of him, "He's a designer who's not out to change the world, yet he pursues demanding, neutral, well-thought-out projects that are bound to have a lasting effect."

Manufactured by Magis (Italy)
Public One, part of a range of chairs and tables, is Grcic's first collaboration with Magis. The company has no factories of its own, instead it out-sources production to specialist contractors. However, Magis pays for the research and developement and retains ownership of the tooling. This is a very early prototype.

Lent by Magis
Credit line
Given by the manufacturer
Object history
A prototype of this chair was displayed in the V&A Exhibition 'Milan in a Van', 2002. This example was acquired at the same time as ten black examples were given by Magis for use in the Directors Dining Room.
Summary
The significance of Chair One derives from its striking linear form, the product of a logical examination of the necessary structure for a chair, reduced to its minimum elements. It is like a two-dimensional drawing of a chair, rendered into three dimensions. The angular, graphic aesthetic, like a wire-frame drawing, was quite new in the early 2000s and in part arose from the use of CAD (computer aided design). With Chair One the designer Konstantin Grcic introduced a new paradigm into the design vocabulary of contemporary furniture, that of the crystal or fractal, and influenced many other designers. Chair One was originally intended primarily as public outdoor seating and spawned a whole family of variants including beam seating and outdoor chairs on concrete cone bases.
Bibliographic references
  • Williams, Gareth.The Furniture Machine, furniture since 1990. 2006, pp.60-1, 84
  • Böhm, Florian. KGID Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design. 2005, pp.198-215
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.6-2007

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Record createdMarch 13, 2007
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O133081/chair-one-chair-grcic-konstantin/
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