midMOD monday: the egg chair

DWR.com

Today on midMOD Monday, I bring you a chair. And it's not just any chair. It's the chair that changed a thousand hotel lobbies.

Designed in 1958 by ​Danish architect, Arne Jacobsen, the Egg chair is an icon of twentieth-century modernism and arguably the most recognizable chair in commercial history. Jacobsen, a devoted Functionalist with a keen sense of proportion, remains best known for his fully integrated projects in which he created every aspect of a building's design (including interior furnishings, textiles, and lighting). As part of his commission for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, Jacobsen designed the Egg as a cozy, bubble-like envelope for the human form. Inside the hotel, the chair provided a sense of individual privacy and comfort within the large, open space of the public lobby. 

By seier+seier [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Room 606, Radisson SAS Royal Hotel. By Richard Moross from London (Jacobsen, Sweet) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

The Egg chair, along with Jacobsen's Swan chair, changed the landscape of twentieth-century design and transformed the traditional upholstered armchair into something completely unique and modern. Appearing in commercials, airport lobbies, movies, and music videos (even McDonald’s used the Egg in it’s ‘upscale’ London restaurant), the Egg chair remains one of the most popular pieces of furniture in the world, a true testament to Arne Jacobsen’s remarkable vision.

The Egg chair is still in production today, buy it at Design within Reach or Hive Modern. You can also book the lovely Arne Jacobsen Suite at the the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel (formerly SAS Royal Hotel) in Copenhagen.