Vitra Armchair Red Plastic material. Dimensions: L 62.5 x Depth 60 cm x H
83 cm – Seat: L 41 x Depth 52 x H 43 cm. Treat yourself to an ORIGINAL
iconic piece by Vitra. An original will always hold its value. It will stay with
you for your whole life and outlast you, to be passed on to the next generation.
Swiss design house Vitra is the only company authorised to manufacture Charles
& Ray Eames products for Europe: if you own an Eames product manufactured by
Vitra, you can be sure it’s an original. Charles and Ray Eames are two of the
most important designers of the 20th century. The first plastic chairs to be
mass-produced, the Shell Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames are among the major
creations in the history of furniture. “Making the best available to the many"
is how Charles and Ray Eames described one of their main aims as furniture
designers. Of all their creations, none came closer to this goal than the
Plastic Chairs. The idea of creating a one-piece moulded seat shell, adapted to
the human body, was the focus of this pair of designers for many years. After
experimenting with plywooden and aluminium sheeting in the 1940s without
producing satisfactory results, their search for alternative materials led them
to glass-fibre-reinforced polyester resin. This material, which was completely
unheard-of in the furniture industry at the time, allowed moulded shells to be
developed and refined up to mass production. This one-piece, organically shaped
shell turned out to be a much-admired innovation at a time when chairs were, for
the most part, composed of a seat and a back. Fibreglass offered the added
benefit of a pleasant feel and a perfectly moulded shell for extraordinary
comfort.After their initial presentation at the Low Cost Furniture Design
competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art in 1948, the Plastic Armchair
(A-shell) and Plastic Side Chair (S-shell) were introduced to the market in
1950, as the first mass-produced plastic chairs. With the launch of this
revolutionary creation, Charles and Ray Eames introduced a new type of furniture
that has since spread around the world: the multifunctional chair whose shell
can be combined with a wide variety of different bases. As early as 1950,
Charles and Ray Eames presented a whole series of different bases with a
remarkable design. The DAR (Dining Height Armchair Rod Base) stands out for the
complex construction of its steel wire „Eiffel Tower“ base. This filigree
structure stands out for its unrivalled combination of lightness of form and
stable construction. Despite its compact dimensions, this chair offers pleasant
comfort even for tall users. Its iconic shape is immediately identifiable.
Today, Vitra manufactures the DAR armchair by Charles and Ray Eames with two
different shells: the Eames Plastic Chairs have a polypropylene shell while
Eames Fiberglass Chairs have a glass-fibre-reinforced polyester resin shell just
like the first models. Like the original armchair, this fibreglass version has a
lively texture: the slightly irregular surface material has clearly visible
fibres that give it an almost natural look. Due to the high quality of Vitra
originals, the manufacturer offers a 10-year guarantee (register your product on
the dedicated website to benefit from the extended warranty).
