July 29, 2020Minimal & Practical

Years of experimentation for the daring S-shaped plastic chair

It took years of experimentation to manufacture a S-shaped chair completely out of plastic in one single piece.

1. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE PANTON CAHIR

The history of the Panton Chair dates back to the latter half of the 1950s, when Danish designer Verner Panton developed the idea of a plastic cantilever chair. However, back in the time, all manufacturers did not want to pursue this daring concept until Panton met Vitra. Willi Fehlbaum, the founder of Vitra, was interested in the idea but only agreed to it when Rolf Fehlbaum and the head of product development, Manfred Diebold, paid a visit to Panton and returned with glowing reports.

'Without Rolf there would have been no Panton Chair.' said Verner Panton

1963 marked the start of a collaboration between Vitra and Verner Panton with the development of one of the most iconic chair designs of the 20th century. It involved several years of persistent research, testing, discarded designs, and continuous prototype development to make the chair be reconciled with the physical limits of plastics technology and manufacturing requirements. From polyurethane to polypropylene, thirty years after the initial market launch, one of Panton’s key goals was finally reached: the plastic chair as an affordable industrial product. Verner Panton died shortly before the chair was presented in 1999.

2. TELL US ABOUT THE DESIGN OF PANTON CHAIR?

The Panton Chair is a classic in the history of furniture design. It was the first chair to be manufactured completely out of plastic in one single piece. Since its introduction to the market, it has advanced through several production phases. Only since 1999 has it been possible to produce the chair in accordance with its original conception – out of durable, dyed-through plastic with a lustrous matt finish. The comfort of this chair results from the combination of a cantilever structure with an anthropomorphic shape and a slightly flexible material. It can be used individually or in groups and is suited for indoor and outdoor environments. The Panton Chair has received numerous international design awards and is represented in the collections of many prominent museums.

3. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF PANTON CHAIR TODAY?

The design classics in Vitra are continuously updated in cooperation with the designers or their legal heirs to adapt them to the needs of today’s users. In that spirit, Vitra manufacture Verner Panton’s design– which can be found in numerous museums and exhibitions – in two models: the Panton Chair Classic in rigid polyurethane foam with a glossy surface and the Panton Chair in polypropylene with a matt finish. Since 2007, the latter has also been available in a children’s version, Panton Junior, in keeping with the designer’s original plans.

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ABOUT DESIGNER - VERNER PANTON

Verner Panton, born in Gentofte, Denmark, studied at Odense Technical College before enrolling at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen as an architecture student. He worked from 1950-1952 in the architectural firm of Arne Jacobsen and founded an independent studio for architecture and design in 1955. Verner Panton was one of the most influential figures in design history, legendary for pushing the limits of forms and materials in the 1960s and 1970s, created numerous designs for seating furniture and lighting. Verner Panton's passion for bright colors and geometric patterns manifested itself in an extensive range of textile, interior, and furniture designs.