CARL HANSEN & SON CH07 | SHELL CHAIR DESIGN BY HANS J. WEGNER
CARL HANSEN & SON CH07 | SHELL CHAIR DESIGN BY HANS J.
WEGNER
Designed by Hans J. Wegner in 1963 for the annual Furniture
Guild Exhibition in Copenhagen. While some critics loved the avantgarde design,
the general public was
reluctant to accept the chair's bold and different design.
In the early 1990´s the "Three legged Shell Chair"
began to attract good prices at international auctions. When Carl Hansen &
Son reintroduced the chair in 1998, it
immediately won several design awards as well as broad
public appeal.
DESCRIPTION
The chair achieves a floating lightness due to its winglike
lines, its tapered legs, and the arching curves of its laminated legs.
The three legged construction employs great stability and
the upholstered slightly bend shells provides generous comfort.
While its triangular footprint makes it suitable for corner
settings, the chair is frequently placed where it can be viewed from all sides,
on its own or in groups.
"The Shell Chair" also complements Hans J. Wegner's
round coffee table, CH008, perfectly.
Seat and back is made from the highest quality formpressed
hardwood laminates. The front legs are made of one piece of continuous
laminated wood, the back leg from another.
Upholstered in the customer's choice of leather or fabric.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Carl Hansen & Søn and sustainability
People's fascination of the combination of good design and
wood, as well as other natural materials, is something that transcends time and
fashion. At Carl Hansen & Søn, we believe that this fascination helps to
explain the great interest in our furniture, and we take very seriously
concerns about the sustainability of the natural resources upon which we depend
for our products. That is why we strive every day to improve our production
methods, logistics and sales efforts in respect of scarce natural resources.
We buy wood only from sustainably managed forests. All
sourced wood meets EUTR 2013 regulations, Danish Forest Legislation and current
international certifications. Oak, beech and ash come primarily from Danish
forests which are managed according to the principles described in Denmark's
National Forest Programme; some of these wood types are also sourced from other
similarly managed European forests, or, in the case of walnut and cherry, North
American forests.
We use every possible bit of these fine hardwoods in our
furniture production.
Inevitably, however, there are some scraps, which are then
used to produce other products or recycled in district heating plants.
http://www.carlhansen.com/products/lounge-chairs/ch07/
HANS J. WEGNER
Hans J. Wegner is widely considered to be one of the leading
figures in 20th century furniture design - and a driving force in the “Danish
Modern” movement that changed the way people looked at furniture in the 1950s
and 1960s.
DESIGNER BIO
Hans J. Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder, the son of a
shoemaker. At the age of 17 he was apprenticed to a carpenter (H. F. Stahlberg)
and it was at this time that he developed his first design. At the age of 20 he
moved to Copenhagen to study at the institution now known as The Royal Danish
Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design but which back then went under the more
modest title of "The Artisan College."
He studied there from 1936-1938, before taking further
studies as an architect. In 1940 Wegner initiated a joint project with
Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in Aarhus, which involved fitting out Aarhus'
town hall. It was also in 1940 that Wegner began to work with Master Carpenter
Johannes Hansen, a man who played a significant role in bringing modern design
to the Danish public. The then Copenhagen Industrial Art Museum (now Design
Museum Denmark) purchased their first Wegner chair in 1942. Hans J.
Wegner opened his own design studio in 1943, and in 1944 he designed his
first "China Chair" in a series inspired by the Chinese Emperor's
thrones.
One of the chairs in this series is what is probably
Wegner's most famous work "The Wishbone Chair," which he designed in
1949, and which Carl Hansen & Søn have manufactured since 1950. Hans
J. Wegner is regarded as one of the world's outstanding furniture
designers. He was one of the motive forces behind the Danish Modern movement
which did much to change people's view of furniture in the 1950s and 60s. His
design retain relevance for us today and his sense for details is a source of
constant wonder.
Wegner has received a number of prizes and recognitions.
Amongst other things, he is an honorary member of The Royal Danish Academy of
Fine Arts and has received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art
in London. He was also the first ever recipient of the Lunning Prize and
received the 8th International Design Award in Osaka, Japan. His works are
exhibited at major international museums including The Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) in New York and Die Neue Sammlung in Munich.
Hans J. Wegner died in Denmark in January 2007
http://www.carlhansen.com/designers/hans-j-wegner/