If you want to list important chair works in the history of furniture, the Panton Chair of the Vitra brand is definitely on the list. Panton Chair is the first integrated, injection-molded plastic chair in history. It abandons the idea that the chair must have four legs and has the unique strength and beauty of a cantilever seat.
The iconic shape of the Panton Chair makes it highly recognizable. Today, Yipinju will introduce to you the design story behind the Panton Chair that you may not know.
The designer of Panton Chair, Verner Panton, is a very famous designer in Denmark. Although from Denmark, Verner Panton is in a completely different direction from the Nordic designers of the time.
His works are eye-catching and full of imagination, and sometimes extremely sexy. It can be said that there is no simple shadow of Nordic design. It is like a declaration of war on traditional design. But also because of Verner Panton's boldness and arrogance, the design has been liberated since then, demonstrating unprecedented freedom and fun. Verner Panton has also become an important representative of leading design in the 1960s.
Although it is not certain when it started, Verner Panton began to have the idea of combining his name with the design, but according to some old notes and sketches left by him, he began to focus on it around 1959. Research on the one-piece cantilever plastic chair-who expected it took nearly ten years to realize this idea.
Later, when the Panton Chair came out in 1967, everyone knew that this was the first independently developed work in the history of Vitra, but there was actually an extremely time-consuming and difficult process behind it. In the following years, the material and manufacturing technology of Panton Chair has undergone several changes, and has gradually become a classic indicator with the symbol of the times in the history of furniture development.
The story started in the 1960s. When Verner Panton brought his prototype chair to Vitra to visit Willi and Rolf Fehlbaum (the first-generation founder and the second-generation president), they deeply felt this chair. Fascinated, and seriously thinking about how to make it mass production.
The first batch of Panton Chairs officially produced in 1967 were made of glass fiber reinforced polyester plastic (Polyester), followed by polyurethane (Polyurethane) and polystyrene (Polystyrene) versions, but later it was obvious that these types With the passage of time, petrochemical raw materials are prone to fracture and damage due to fatigue. With various unfavorable factors and rising environmental awareness, Vitra had to cease production in the late 1970s.
Through Verner Panton's efforts to improve, a complex but reliable manufacturing method was published in the 1980s, that is, the use of rigid polyurethane foam (Rigid polyurethane foam). To this day, this fantasy version still has many fans vying to collect it. Vitra is called "Panton Chair Classic".
What is sad is that Verner Panton's original design concept was not realized until his death in 1998.
The current version uses polypropylene (Polypropylene) to manufacture Panton Chair through injection molding, which is extremely light, resistant to heavy pressure, 100% environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and UV resistant. Most importantly, because the cost has been greatly reduced, now everyone has the opportunity to own this classic masterpiece at a reasonable price.
The Panton Chair produced by Vitra is often called the S chair. Its shape is like the letter S. It has only a single curve and no additional skeleton. It looks sleek and smooth. In addition to being sculptural, it also has a curvy beauty of the human body.
With the consent of widow Marianne Panton, Panton Junior was launched in 2006. The Panton Chair was originally a favorite of children. They like the bright and bright colors and smooth curves of the chair. It is like a playground when climbing up and down.
According to the proportions and materials of the Panton Chair, Junior has been reduced by a quarter, giving children a corner where they can happily rest and read.
Panton Chair not only established Verner Panton's important position in the design circle, but also a revolutionary breakthrough in the history of modern furniture. If you are interested in injection molding chairs, please see:Plastic Chair Injection Mould