Northmodern 2015: Danish designer Simon Legald's seating range for furniture brand Normann Copenhagen draws inspiration from hundreds of chair designs throughout history (+ slideshow).
First designed as Simon Legald's graduation project from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2012, the collection of injection-moulded polypropylene shell chairs is the result of more than 20 prototypes created over three years.
"I had an idea of what the ideal chair should look like, and I have had this idea for many years," said Legald. "I have analysed hundreds of chairs from different periods during the design process."
The basic Form Chair features a shell seat and a range of wooden bases. It is available with or without armrests, and as a barstool in two different heights.
To enable a variety of current and upcoming base designs, Legald has come up with a mounting solution consisting of four moulded-plastic connectors. These were designed to replace the traditional approach of boring a different set of holes into the chair for each possible base.
"The goal was also to create a flexible design that could be adapted to countless types of bases, including the ones that will emerge in the future," said a spokesperson for Normann Copenhagen.
"The connection principle developed especially for the Form Chair makes it possible to mount different types of bases in the same holes. As a result Form is a homogenous and aesthetic design regardless of which angle you look at the chair from."
The base is available in lacquered steel, American oak or walnut. The wooden bases are assembled and sanded by hand, while the steel designs are welded together – eliminating the need for screws.
Seats are available in blue, grey, green, red, black and white.
Legald has also designed a collection of tables to accompany the chairs. The Form Table has a top made of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) covered with linoleum. Other features include hand-finished solid oak profiles, cross bars and supports.
The legs attached using the same moulded connectors developed for the chairs but made from aluminium. Square and rectangular versions come in six colours.
The range will debut at the Northmodern design fair in the Danish capital, and will also be presented over the next two months at Maison&Objet in Paris, Stockholm Furniture Fair and Ambiente in Frankfurt.
Simon Legald's previous projects for Normann Copenhagen include the stackable melamine Nabo Trays, the Folk family of candle holders, and the Basic Series of simplified wine accessories.