"Siège à Dossier Basculant" Armchair (model B 301)
Designer Le Corbusier French, born Switzerland
Manufacturer Gebrüder Thonet GmbH German
Not on view
The Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier was a highly influential proponent of the modernist principle of rationalization in furniture. He used modern industrial methods to create standardized designs based on the manufacturing and design concepts of automobiles or ocean liners. He described the house as a "machine for living in," and referred to domestic furnishings as equipment. This chair, designed along with two other models with his associates Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, encapsulates these principles. Called basculant because of its pivoting back support, the chair was ergonomically designed to the proportions of the human body. Its simple form, reduced to essentials and made of industrial tubular steel and canvas, reflect Le Corbusier's concept of furniture as equipment. The chair was used to furnish several of his most influential houses, including the Villa Savoye.
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