Sash56: The Art Of Sitting In Scandinavian Design

Yusi Liu
SASH56: Modern Scandinavian Design
Professor Björn Fritz
November 26, 2014

The Art of Sitting in Scandinavian Design

If you happen to read about Scandinavian design, you will very likely notice that Scandinavian designers have been always having a passion for designing chairs across different periods with various styles. A lof of world famous Scandinavian designers, such as Arne Jacobsen and Hans Wegner, are most well known for their chair designs. What is behind this obsession with chairs and why? Designing a chair is simple yet complicated. Chair is an inseparatable part of our daily activities. It seems like a simple object to design but one actually needs consider many aspects while designing a chair. You need think what

[Figure.1a] The style was then influenced by Dutch and German designs in the 16th Century, during which a lot of frames and carved panels were used. Later duing 18th Century, the mainstream stype transformed into Rococo from Baroque. Rococo is a more rigorous style of design， which usually has simple lines and elegant appearance. It is visually appealling and very practical and thus very adored by Nordic countries, therefore it laid the foundation for the development of Scandinavian design.

“From its birth around 1920, modern Scandinavian design has been underpinned by a moral humanist ethos the roots of which can be traced to Lutheranism - the state religion throughout Scandinavia, which stresses truth and reason and teaches that salvation can be gained through honest work that benefits one's fellow man. It is this moral belief in social imperatives that has formed the philosophical bedrock from which Scandinavian design has evolved and prospered”

The emergence of machin has gradually changed the traditional Scandinavian design by making it even more functional and reliable. One of the most representative works is the “Panton Chair” (1960) [Appendix.4] by Danish designer Verner Panton. Panton boldly uses bright colors and new materials in this design and the “Panton Chair” is known as the first one-piece plastic chair. It has a beautiful streamline with advantages such as lightweight, easy to clean, sustainable. It almost suits for all kinds of decoration styles and can be put either indoor or outdoor. The classic look of the chair makes it very popular in not only home but also hotels, restaurants and other public places. This is a revolutionary breakthrough in the history of modern Scandinavian design and of development of modern