Collaborating with Herzog & de Meuron Architects on the Parrish Art Museum (Long Island, New York) created an opportunity for developing a bespoke chair for the new building. I was convinced that a chair which would fit the museum´s specific context and needs also had high potentials as a universal product. Looking for a suitable manufacturing partner made us join up with Emeco, producer of the iconic Navy chair. Emeco have a strong history and expertise in making contemporary chairs which combine industrial process and craftsmanship. Their powerful claim “First, Let´s Make Things That Last” became the mantra for our own ambitions.

The chair´s form is characterized by the lines of round sectioned aluminum tubing which softly coil around a separate seat element. The entire construction converges in one single element underneath the seat; we call it the “heart” of the chair. Made in die-cast aluminum it is the joint which holds everything together – the legs, the arm-/backrest, the seat. Conceptually, it determines how the chair is produced: in prefabricated parts, spliced together mechanically. The dry assembly of elements demands a high degree of precision, but offering extra flexibility in the production process as well as facilitating future repair work and recycling. Craftsmanship is not anymore defined by hand-labour, but rather by machine processes making precision parts: die-casting, extrusions, injection moulding.

The PARRISH chair is available as a high chair or low recliner. It can be fitted with three optional seats: moulded plastic (polypropylene), solid wood (maple or walnut) and upholstery (leather or fabric). In combination with different frame finishes (natural anodized aluminum or powder coated colors) the chair can adapt to a number of different scenarios. From a basic café version (plastic seat) to high end contract and domestic (wood, upholstery) use.
A matching four-legged table is based on a similar construction principle featuring a central joint in die-cast aluminum and tubular legs. Tables are available in different sizes and formats and heights.

designer: konstantin grcic
producer: emeco
period: 2013