Photo Essay + Sketches
Detailed Investigation
LC1 Chair - Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier (born Charles-Edoard Jeanneret) was a Swiss-born French architect and designer, largely contributed to the modern architecture of the first half 20th century.
His designs were notable for incorporating clean, a radical simplification of form, a rejection of ornament, and minimalist functionality of modern architecture which are now considered to be precursors of modern furniture design.
Some of his famous furniture pieces are the now-iconic LC1, LC2, LC3, and LC4, originally titled:
"Basculant" (LC1),
"Fauteuil grand confort, petit modèle", English : “great comfort sofa, small model" (LC2)
"Fauteil grand confort, grand modèle", English: "great comfort sofa, large model" (LC3), and
"Chaise longue", English: "Long chair" (LC4).
The LC1 (stands for Le Corbusier 1) Chair was designed by Le Corbusier in 1928 in collaboration with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and French interior designer Charlotte Perriand. In the 1930s, the Thonet furniture company began production of the LC1 Chair until it was taken up by the Embru company of Switzerland. In 1959, the LC1 and the rest of the Le Corbusier furniture line was re-introduced with several modifications by Heidi Weber, a Zurich museum owner and associate of Le Corbusier.
The LC1 Chair consists of a chrome-plated tubular steel frame with a leather seat, backrest and a matching pair of arm rests. The seat and backrest were originally made from ponyskin, red saddle leather or black aniline leather and the arm rests were basically leather straps wound around the side of the steel frame.
What was new about this chair was the adjustable seat and back-rest which is the translation of a customary basic form which emphasised the functionality of the simple tilting mechanism. The back section can be tilted by two side attachments and thus supports the back in any position. The back section is pushed forward and supported together with the seat by a single connector which is welded from one straight and one bent tube.
Some of the relevant design features to early 20th C design characteristics, such as the use of steel as the main material, offered significant industrial innovation, emphasising the labour-saving potential, made it viable for mass production. The arrangement of thin tubular steels, introduced the ‘machine age’ aesthetic, creating visually weightless quality.
Le Corbusier (born Charles-Edoard Jeanneret) was a Swiss-born French architect and designer, largely contributed to the modern architecture of the first half 20th century.His designs were notable for incorporating clean, a radical simplification of form, a rejection of ornament, and minimalist functionality of modern architecture which are now considered to be precursors of modern furniture design.
Some of his famous furniture pieces are the now-iconic LC1, LC2, LC3, and LC4, originally titled:
"Basculant" (LC1),
"Fauteuil grand confort, petit modèle", English : “great comfort sofa, small model" (LC2)
"Fauteil grand confort, grand modèle", English: "great comfort sofa, large model" (LC3), and
"Chaise longue", English: "Long chair" (LC4).
The LC1 (stands for Le Corbusier 1) Chair was designed by Le Corbusier in 1928 in collaboration with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and French interior designer Charlotte Perriand. In the 1930s, the Thonet furniture company began production of the LC1 Chair until it was taken up by the Embru company of Switzerland. In 1959, the LC1 and the rest of the Le Corbusier furniture line was re-introduced with several modifications by Heidi Weber, a Zurich museum owner and associate of Le Corbusier.
The LC1 Chair consists of a chrome-plated tubular steel frame with a leather seat, backrest and a matching pair of arm rests. The seat and backrest were originally made from ponyskin, red saddle leather or black aniline leather and the arm rests were basically leather straps wound around the side of the steel frame.
What was new about this chair was the adjustable seat and back-rest which is the translation of a customary basic form which emphasised the functionality of the simple tilting mechanism. The back section can be tilted by two side attachments and thus supports the back in any position. The back section is pushed forward and supported together with the seat by a single connector which is welded from one straight and one bent tube.
Some of the relevant design features to early 20th C design characteristics, such as the use of steel as the main material, offered significant industrial innovation, emphasising the labour-saving potential, made it viable for mass production. The arrangement of thin tubular steels, introduced the ‘machine age’ aesthetic, creating visually weightless quality.
