Series 7

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The best-selling model 3107 in the series in red

Series 7 is a range of stackable wooden chairs designed by the Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen . The chairs are manufactured by the Danish furniture manufacturer Fritz Hansen , whose former managing director Poul Fritz Hansen was involved in the development of the series. Over 5 million chairs in the series have been sold since the 1950s.

development

Predecessor: The ant with three legs, model 3100

Before the development of the first chair in the 7 series in 1955, the “Myren / The Ant” chair was created in 1952 (Danish / Eng. The ant). Jacobsen used a new technique in the processing of layer-glued veneer panels . Using steam it was possible to bend the plates around two axes. Jacobsen was inspired by the work of the American designer couple Charles and Ray Eames , after whom the style is also called "Eames design". The Eames worked with plywood between 1945 and 1947 and experimented with new ways of deforming the material. During this phase, several series were created, including chairs made of five molded wooden parts each. The work of the Eames was received with interest both in the furniture industry and in art. The Museum of Modern Art in New York awarded in 1946 the first solo exhibition ever at the plywood work of the Eames under the title "New furniture design by Charles Eames."

Jacobsen built on the work of Eames when he designed the ant for the canteen of the Danish company Novo in 1952 . He turned to Fritz Hansen with an order for 140 chairs. The manufacturer only wanted to produce from 300 pieces, so Jacobsen promised to buy the remaining 160 chairs himself if they could not be sold.

The ant had three tubular steel legs and was one of the first chairs to have a seat shell made from a single piece of plywood. This was made possible by a strong waistline of the contour at the transition between the seat and the back, a detail that all models in the 7 series have. The seat consists of nine glued layers, with a cotton fabric on the front and rear layers. At 122 ° C, the wooden structure is pressed into the mold for two minutes under a pressure of 94 tons and then left to rest for five days.

With the aim of constructing an inexpensive and compact chair for modern environments, a construction was reduced to two parts, the seat shell and the metal tube frame. After the ant, Jacobsen developed the 3107 model and other variants of the 7 series, which also had more complicated substructures such as a roller frame with a swivel joint. The surface of the seat shell is available as natural wood, in various wood finishes and fully or partially covered with various fabrics or leather.

Use and reception

Chair exhibition at MoMA. In the background model 3107 in black and The Ant

Jacobsen, who tried to create total works of art in his building projects , used the series to furnish buildings he designed, e.g. B. for the meeting rooms in Mainz City Hall or the restaurant on the 20th floor of the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen.

During photo shoots in 1963 Christine Keeler posed naked upside down on a duplicate of the number seven so that the backrest covered her upper body and genital area. The photos were released at the wedding of the Profumo affair , after Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and John Profumo , the British Secretary of the Army, resigned over Profumo's affair with Keeler. The photos ensured a rapid increase in sales of the original chair.

Chairs in the series have been added to the collections of various museums. The Design Museum Danmark in Copenhagen dedicates a room to the permanent exhibition of series 7. There are 20 chairs of the model 3107, which were worked on by Danish artists, in a row. A Series 7 chair, a black 3107, is also on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, along with the previously developed model The Ant .

Models

Leather-covered office chair 3217
from left: Model 3207 with armrests; Model 3108; Model 3107 without cover; Model 3107 with leather cover

The previous models of the 7 series was The Ant , which was later made in two versions:

  • 3100: ant with three legs
  • 3101: ant with four legs

The following series 7 models are still in production today:

  • 3107: chair with four legs
  • 3117: chair with swivel base
  • 3177: high chair
  • 3207: chair with four legs and armrests
  • 3217: chair with swivel base and armrests

Other chair models from Jacobsen's hand that share the same design with Series 7 are:

  • 3130 : Chair with wooden or metal legs and a two-wing backrest. The chair won on the XI. Triennale di Milano 1957 the Grand Prix and therefore bears the name "Grand Prix"
  • 3208: chair with four legs and curved armrests, called "Lily"
  • 3218: chair with swivel frame and curved armrests, called "Lily"

literature

  • Janne Faulkner, Harley Anstee, Sonia Simpfendorfer, Earl Carter 2007: Living , ISBN 1-74114-826-X

Web links

Commons : Series 7 chairs by Arne Jacobsen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Dung Ngo, Eric Pfeiffer 2003: Bent Ply: The Art of Plywood Furniture , Princeton Architectural Press, ISBN 1-56898-405-7 . P. 72 ff
  2. Dirk Kruse-Etzbach, Ulrich Quack 2008: Danish market tips for individual discoverers Edition: 3 ISBN 3-933041-44-9 and www.danish-furniture.com
  3. Dwell - The 3107 Chair (English)
  4. ^ The Independent : Accidental Heroes of the 20th Century - 35: Christine Keeler, Call Girl , April 10, 1999 (English). Photos of Christine Keeler with the chair
  5. Description of the Grand Prix ( Memento from September 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English; PDF; 328 kB)