THREE HISTORY CHAIRS AND REDESIGN SOLUTIONS

292 HILL HOUSE 1

Designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow in 1868 and died in London on
10th December 1928. His personality is one of those that characterize the period
immediately preceding the Modern Movement. His name is mainly connected with the
design for the Glasgow School of Art: he was the animator and most authoritative exponent
of the group known as the “Glasgow School” and he distinguished himself principally
because he recovered the most authentic values of the Scottish idiom and of neo-Gothic
taste. The group, also named “the School of Ghosts”, became known throughout Europe – in
Liege in 1895, London in 1896, Vienna in 1900, Turin in 1902, Moscow in 1903, Budapest
etc. Besides the School of Art, the most interesting works are undoubtedly: the “Windyhill”
house at Kilmacolm (1900), the “Hill House” at Helensburgh (1902-3), the arrangement of
the Derngate house, Northampton (1916-20), and the decorative work in Miss Cranston’s
Tea-Rooms in Glasgow. Among the furnishings of his decorative interiors, it is above all the
chair – an object of special attention in the “Cassina I Maestri” collection – which represents
the focal point for coordinated spatial action. Within it, the controlling force of the
composition is always resolved, sometimes articulated in fluent and delicate forms, at other
times in severely geometric forms.
Ladderback chair, ashwood frame stained black. Seat upholstered in a special fabric, either
lavender and oil green. The Hill House chair combines figurative and symbolic ideals with a
linear geometry, no doubt inspired by the abstract graphics of Japanese design. It is more
than a mere chair in that it illustrates Mackintosh’s articulation of space with its high back
and rows of horizontal bars, topped with a grid: with slats and straight poles crossed together
to create a resistant frame.

Redesign solutions:

In order to preserve the identity of the product, one of the solutions may be to add
arms of the same geometric shapes to one or both sides of the chair.

We can also play with the back of the chair that is very long and create a
customizable movable surface from the same.

Materials: Use wood and canvas in different colors and patterns.

280 ZIG ZAG

Designer Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, born in Utrecht on 24 June 1888, seems

possessed of two personalities, each so distinct that one might take his work to be
that of more than one artist. The first personality is that seen in the craftsman
cabinet-maker working in a primordial idiom, re-inventing chairs and other furniture
as if no one had ever built them before him and following a structural code all of his
own; the second is that of the architect working with elegant formulas, determined to
drive home the rationalist and neoplastic message in the context of European
architecture. The two activities alternate, overlap, and fuse in a perfect osmosis
unfolding then into a logical sequence. In 1918 Rietveld joined the “De Stijl”
movement which had sprung up around the review of that name founded the year
before by Theo van Doesburg. The group assimilated and translated into ideology
certain laws on the dynamic breakdown of compositions (carrying them to an
extreme) that had already been expressed in painting by the cubists: the “De Stijl”
artists also carefully studied the architectonic lesson taught by the great Frank Lloyd
Wright, whose influence was widely felt in Europe at that time. Collaborating first with
Robert van’t Hoff and Vilmos Huszar, then with Theo van Doesburg and Cornelius
van Eesteren, Rietveld soon became one of the most distinguished interpreters of
the neoplastic message. Among his most important works are: the Schröder house
at Utrecht (1924); the “Row Houses” at Utrecht (1931- 34); the Dutch pavilion at the
Venice Biennial (1954); the sculpture pavilion in the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller at
Otterloo and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (1955). Out of his equally
important furniture, Cassina has chosen for its own production: the “Red and Blue”
(1918), the “Zig-Zag” (1934), the “Schröder 1” (1923), the “Utrecht” (1935)

Designed by Rietveld in 1934, this chair sees the normal legs-seatback sequence
replaced by a single sheet of wood in an overturned Z shape. It was also one of the
first examples of a cantilevered seat. The dovetail joints, visible on the rear between
the seat and the back show of f the quality of Cassina carpentry . In addition to the
version in natural cherry wood, the chair also comes in natural ash and in a coloured
version with an open-pore finish to show off the wood vein, featuring primary colours
(red, blue and yellow) and non-colours (black and white) for the horizontal parts and
natural ash for the side sections.

Redesign solutions:

One of the possible solutions to redesigning these chair is the ability to play with full
and empty surfaces where the frame of the chair as well as its legs is made of steel.

The second solution is to extend the chair's support and to continue the monolithic
part of it in the form of a smaller table. In this case, it would be possible to break
down the geometry of the chair by screwing the lower part to get an extra part on
one side of the chair.
LC1 PAMPAS

Designer: Le Corbusier
In 1922, Le Corbusier began working in the new rue de Sèvres, Paris, atelier with his cousin
Pierre Jeanneret with whom he shared research projects and design criteria in a profound
and life-long professional relationship. In October 1927, the pair decided to draw on the
contribution of a young architect who had already begun to establish a reputation on the
architectural scene of the time: Charlotte Perriand. Their collaboration lasted through to 1937
and was extremely fruitful, especially in the field of furniture design. The partnership was
highly significant, both in terms of the cultural weight of their achievements and their
professional successes. It was together with Charlotte Perriand that the pair tackled the
innovative project for “l’équipement d'intérieur de l’habitation”. The resulting designs were of
great intellectual value and considerable commercial success. Thanks to Cassina’s ongoing
production, there is continued interest in the conceptual contents of the work and the level of
quality attained. Due to these characteristics, each item in the collection is eagerly awaited.

Characterized by its minimalist form, the iconic LC1 Sling Chair is reduced to its most
essential elements to create a functional yet avant garde sculpture of polished stainless steel
tubing and leather. The classic chair was designed in the late 1920s by celebrated architects
Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand, who reimagined the potential of
industrial materials to create forward thinking objects for the modern home. Though strict in
its minimalist form, the chair provides maximum comfort from sophisticated details such as
the moveable backrest and steel springs behind the seat and backrest. The trio of designers
labored over numerous prototypes, uncompromising in their commitment to revolutionize
design. Produced exclusively by Cassina, the classic chair has been updated with precious
hides from South America which have a very characteristic brindled pattern making each
piece completely unique. The Pampas version of the LC1 Sling Chair is now available in a
limited edition of 400 numbered pieces. A turning point in the history of modern design, the
LC1 Sling Chair an important object that has been internationally celebrated for almost 90
years.
​Redesign solutions:

One of the possible solutions can be modification by using different material for the
frame of the chair, like wood. That frame could be done with wider wood so it can be
used as an addition for decorations or ‘miniature coffee table-shelf’.

Alson, inside part of the chair can be done with material with the fill so we can
achieve better comfort.

This chair can be made with different colors and patterns.