Claesson Koivisto Rune, a 'Oval' chair, Skandiform, 2015.
Frame of black lacquered steel. Moulded seat and backrest. Marked. Seat height 45, height 79 cm.
Minor wear.
The office of Claesson Koivisto Rune at Östgötagatan 50, Stockholm.
The Oval chair is designed to be beautiful alone or in large numbers together. The seat and back are ‘squeezed’ round shapes. Like circles pushed into the chair’s frame, becoming ovals in the process.
Designed for the user and for the architect, it is highly stackable and connectable. Important, for instance, in assembly halls. In addition, this type of chair needs to exude just the right amount of character. The amplifying effect of repetition in large numbers calls for a restrained design to subordinate the chair from the overall spatiality of the room. Yet, the chair must have a personality to keep the furnished room from being bland.
The chair is just a little wider than usual. It is built for the shoulder width rather than the pelvis, so that you gain the extra few centimetres for the right comfort zone for your place in the row of seats.
The back leg rods rise up, past the backrest, and continue in a rear-bent loop that serves as a handle to lift the chair. But also – perhaps more importantly – serves as a buffer for people moving behind your row to avoid bumping into the back of your head.
Claesson Koivisto Rune is a Swedish architecture and design studio founded in 1995 by Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto, and Ola Rune.
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