Aluminium and leather chair, the 'Irma', designed by Achille Castiglioni, manufactured by Zanotta. Italian, 1980.

Chair with tubular alumninium frame with solid leather upholstered seat and splat. The splat has been formed to fit the sitter's spine. The aluminium treated to colour it a dark charcoal grey. The two front and two back legs welded to an x-frame to which supports the seat. The back legs, seat back uprights and top rail are formed of a single piece of tubular aluminium, a further flattened tubular cross bar between the two back legs below the x-frame. The leather seat is curved on front and sides and has a straight edge at the back. The front edge has a lip which dips down slightly. The seat is attached to the front legs and x-frame on its underside (screwed up through frame?). The chair back splat slots into a slit in the underside of the top rail of the seat back and is screwed into it through the back of the top rail. At its base the splat is screwed from behind into the cross bar which runs between the two back legs.

The Irma chair was designed by Achille Castiglioni for the Italian manufacturer Zanotta in 1979. Conceived as a dining chair, the rigid seat forces the sitter’s upright position. Ideas around posture and politeness at the dining table were first developed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni when developing the Lierna chair in 1960, of which they said: ‘It is a chair specifically designed as a seat to be placed next to the table for lunch. Therefore it resulted with a rather high backrest that shields the shoulders of the diner, narrow to facilitate the movements of those serving lunch and which is well suited to the composed position of the seated people.’ Similar in style, the Irma chair was made of metal with leather seat, whereas the Lierna was made of lacquered solid wood with an upholstered seat of leather or fabric.

W.1-1981