Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune and Czech furniture company TON have reinterpreted a 1930s chair designed by Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann to create the A822 chair, which has been shortlisted for a Dezeen Award.
The Swedish studio decided to update Hoffmann's original A811 chair, which they had used for previous projects, to give it a contemporary and Nordic character.
"The A811 shows the heritage of 19th-century romanticism," said Claesson Koivisto Rune co-founder Mårten Claesson. "We decided to remove this feeling."
Josef Hoffmann's 1930s model A811 next to the Claesson Koivisto Rune A822 armchair
After starting to work on a restaurant inside the former Norwegian stock exchange building in Bergen, the Swedish studio approached TON to redesign the chair. "The restaurant Frescohallen is in the former room of the Norwegian Stock Exchange, so we thought about adding a contemporary pattern motif to the classic space," said Claesson Koivisto Rune co-founder Eero Koivisto.
Collection 822 combines shaped plywood and manually bent solid wood
Claesson Koivisto Rune modified the original chair's proportions and used bentwood technology to create a seat that would be durable for daily usage in the restaurant.
"We designed [the 822 chair] to last generations because the client in Norway is a family who has been running hotels for four generations," said Koivisto.
"These chairs will still be in this restaurant in 40, even 60...