This year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) brought more than 600 designers from around the world together in New York from May 17 to May 20 to share and celebrate innovative design. As expected, plenty of seating was on display. We spotlight a few favorites, all in the name of encouraging our readers, namely those in the States, to kick back in their own chairs for this long holiday weekend.
Boomerang Chair, V/S
Germany-based furniture maker V/S is issuing a selection of Richard Neutra’s chairs, lounges, sofas, and tables in collaboration with his son Dion. Among the collection is the 1940s Boomerang Chair, first created for the Channel Heights residential development in San Pedro, Calif. The design is being revived in a natural matte oak veneer with upholstery options including canvas and leather.
Bench and Chair Prototype, Molo Designs
Molo Designs combined its modular Softwall and Softseating into a single system that lets users customize their spaces for private discussions or solo work in otherwise-open floor plans. The prototype’s flexible honeycomb structure, which can expand, contract, and bend, is made of recyclable paper that contains 50% recycled content and is flame-retardant. The material's surface is designed to compress from repeated use. The components connect via magnetic side panels.
Roberts Stool, Tronk
The curved, solid-wood seat of the Roberts Stool, by Cincinnati-based design studio Tronk, features a diagonal wood inlay. Offered in walnut and maple, the seat is supported by a steel-tube base in seven powdercoats.
Rival, Konstantin Grcic for Artek
Designer Konstantin Grcic created Rival for use in home offices. Its minimalist birch frame and modern swivel seat gives the chair a subtle functionality. Offered with a high and low back, and with textile and leather upholstery options for the seat.
Jill, Vitra
As the result of a collaboration between Vitra and Argentina-born designer Alfredo Häberli, Jill is inspired by Charles and Ray Eames’ molded plywood Leg Splint that the pair designed for the U.S. Navy in 1941. Jill features an ergonomic, sculptural shell that sits atop a base offered in tubular steel, aluminum, and wood.
Maya, Folditure
The pull of a single lever allows Folditure chairs to collapse into slender units that are designed for show. Maya, the company's latest chair, is 40” tall and has a 19”-wide seat and, when collapsed, its profile measures 1.25” deep. With a profile that references the forms found in ancient Mayan art, the chair’s dimensions also include an integrated hook for hanging on the wall when the chair is not in use.
Loop de Loop, Bill Pedersen
KPF founding principal William Pedersen, FAIA, is not the first architect to diversify his practice by pursuing the dream of crafting the perfect chair. Loop de Loop, launched as a solo pursuit and presented at ICFF by the man himself, is a single-line prototype chair made of 5/8” tubular steel and a non-elastic knit polyester mesh seat and back. Models include a lounge, chaise, dining chair, side chair, and ottoman.
Lollygagger Collection, Loll Designs
Loll Designs crafts its Lollygagger Collection of outdoor furniture from composite boards made of post-consumer recycled plastic milk cartons, a UV-stabilizer, and pigment. The Duluth, Minn.–based outdoor furniture maker was founded in 2003 as a spinoff business by a skate park design-build contractor who wanted to repurpose leftover materials. The new collection includes a lounge, sofa (shown), and occasional tables.
3+ Collection, Zieta
Architects and designers are creating spaces that require modular furniture solutions and Swiss studio Zieta is taking note. Its 3+ collection’s kit of parts includes connectors, perforated metal sheets, and wood and metal legs that can be assembled into tables, chairs, stools (shown), and shelving, as well as facades and interior walls.
Captains Chair, Bend
Los Angeles studio Bend marries vibrant colors and pattern in its line of hand- and spot-welded chairs and objects. Its Captain’s Chair, released at ICFF, features a raised lattice back and frame in powdercoated and metallic-plated finishes. For indoor and outdoor use.
Broom Chair and Barstool, Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck added a barstool to his Broom Collection for Emeco. Made from 75% waste polypropylene,15% reclaimed wood fiber, and 10% glass fiber and pigment, the seating pieces are offered in natural, green, orange, yellow, dark gray, and white colors. The barstool measures 17.25” wide, 16.5” deep, and 43.25” tall.
