Know Your Chairs: The F300 by Pierre Paulin

I have posted about French furniture and interior designer Pierre Paulin and his wonderful creations previously here. Not all of his pieces are still in production but thankfully Danish furniture company GUBI, started in 1967, just reintroduced one of Paulin's iconic designs. So for this installation of Know Your Chairs, let's look at the refreshed F300 chair!

Created by Paulin in 1965 and released by furniture manufacturer Artifort that same year, the first F300s were produced in fiberglass or injected polyurethane, allowing for contoured ergonomic comfort while maintaining a visually light expression. GUBI says they have responsibly upgraded the production of the F300 for the 21st century, which is now crafted in Italy from the engineered polymer HiREK®, made using industrial plastic waste. Retaining the durability of plastic, HiREK is lightweight and resistant to UV, weathering, and pressure. Most importantly, HiREK produces a smooth, high-gloss surface without requiring additional finishing processes, perfectly replicating the performance and aesthetic of the original materials while minimizing waste created during production.

I love how, despite the fact that the chair references a certain, sleek, man-made aesthetic, it still managese to present an alluring organic shape. And I really love how the uphosltery creeps down the legs a bit...

Like so many pieces of furniture from Europe in the mid-sixties through the seventies, many Paulin pieces showed up in sci-fi films and television shows (the Paulin Ribbon chair was a staple on "Space: 1999" and even had a cameo in "Blade Runner 2049") and the F300 is no exception! It appeared in the film "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" and on several episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

You can now have your own Pierre Paulin F300 chair from GUBI or Design Within Reach, available in two colors for the frame and many fabric and leather color options for the upholstery.

Happy designing!

Know Your Chairs: The Ribbon Chair

Since we just looked at French designer Pierre Paulin's Elysee sofa last month for the Know Your Sofas series here, let's look at his iconic Ribbon Chair.

The Ribbon Chair and accompanying ottoman were created in 1966 by Paulin and made from a metal frame with horizontal springs, covered with foam and stretch fabric. One look at the geometry and you can see why it is called the Ribbon Chair as it is a continuous run of a single narrow plane, indented to create the back.

And like so many modernist pieces, they work well with contemporary, transitional, or traditional elements.

The chair is also a television and film star in its own right, featuring heavily in the 1970s British sci-fi series "Space: 1999" (along with a slew of other iconic furniture pieces and lighting by Artemide). You can see it prominently below in the first still from the show, as well as peeking out from behind show star Martin Landau in the second image...

...and we just recently saw it in last year's extraordinary "Blade Runner 2049" too!

This amazing chair is still in production and available through Artifort.

Happy designing!

Know Your Sofas: Pierre Paulin's Élysée Sofa

French furniture and industrial designer Pierre Paulin did not get off to an auspicious start: after failing his Baccalauréat (the end of high school exams that determine whether or not a student goes on to university studies), he trained as a ceramist in Vallaurius and then as a stone-carver in Burgundy. But when he got into a fight that injured his right arm, his dreams of being a sculptor came to an end. Yet he found himself later working at Gascoin, then Thonet (previously here) and then Artifort where he gained international fame for the creation of his Mushroom chair in 1960 and his Ribbon chair in 1966 (this will be featured later in an installation of Know Your Chairs).

Then in 1969, he was commissioned by Jean Coural, head of the Mobilier National, an agency of the French Ministry of Culture, to redesign four rooms in President Georges Pompidou’s private apartment in the Élysée Palace. Paulin proceeded to cover the Napoléon III giltwood-paneled walls entirely in beige fabric and bring in newly designed pouf-style sofas and chairs, which became known as the Élysée collection. The sofas and chairs were molded from strips of wood wrapped in foam and upholstered in leather.

The sofa, alternatively called the Pumpkin (look at the shape) or the Alpha (after the Alpha manufacturing company that made the originals), was in brief production until 1973 but did not really gain a cult following until the early 2000s. The rarity of the originals makes them highly sought after for high price tags, but fear not, Ralph Pucci has brought the Alpha sofa back into production!

Happy designing!