Functional Chairs:
Functionalism - "the notion that objects made to be used should be simple, honest, and direct; ell adapted to their purpose; bare of ornament; standardized; machine-made, and reasonably pcriced; and expressive of their structure and materials - has defined the course of progressive design for most of the century." (George Marcus, Functionalism, 1995, p.9)
Chairs are inherently functional. They are designed to rest in and as such have certain parameters built into their design, namely human geometry. Designers will constrain the function of the chair by limiting the geometry to a tight focus, the Valet chair is a prime example of this as it is designed for men and specific needs thereof. Alternately designers will expand it to encompass a broad spectrum, the Pantower designed for one or more people to sit in a variety of configurations or the Aeron chair designed to to conform perfectly to the needs of a specific individual. Designs can be further refined by adding a specific function or set of functions to the chair , the Valet’s ability to hold clothes, Barcelona being targeted at certain audiences, Thonet’s No.14 and its mass production success. Chairs, due to their functional nature, lean heavily towards functionalism and are better for it they are. Many beautiful designs have been driven by function and purity of material yet some stand apart from the rest because certain aesthetic choices were taken into consideration. When speaking of chairs function is paramount but there is room for ornamentation at times, though often the ornamentation stems from and innovative solution for a sought after function. Functionalism does not mean devoid of ornamentation it means devoid of ornamentation for ornamentation's sake. Take Shaker design for example, it does not have frivolous ornamentation but it has beautiful details incorporated into it. This is accomplished by carefully considering a necessary function and highlighting it within the design. A key to beautiful, meaningful design is recognizing which functions can and/or should be highlighted. This is much easier to preach than to practice, highlighting a handle instead of a hinge or joint can mean the difference between beautiful and terrible design.


1859
Chair Model no.14, Designed by Micheal Thonet for mass production constructed of bent solid wood with a wicker seat. This simple chair form remains one of the most successful and copied chair designs of all time. By 1930 50 million had been sold worldwide.


1929
Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Meis van der Rohe. The chair was inspired by the folding chairs of the Pharaohs and the X shaped footstools of the Romans. Designed for dignitaries and royals the Pavillion.


1953
Valet model no.PP250 by Hans J. Wegner. This chair (a.k.a. The Bachelor’s Chair) was designed to serve as a valet. The back formed to hold a jacket, the seat when lifted up holds a pair of pants and the tray revealed under the seat holds small personal affects.


1968-1969
Pantower by Verner Panton, The Pantower is an example of Verner Pantons desire to design comfortable, functional, playful seating that railed against preconceived notions of seating.


1992
Aeron Chair by Donald Chadwick & William Stumpf. Designed based on letting fuction dictate the form. The designers developed a convictions about how the chair should function. The chair should do whatever it can to aleviate the stress caused by sitting for too long, it should accomodate a wide variety of body types, it should adjust to support an individual in any postition the wish and should have minimal impact on resources.