Designers are always reinventing the chair, and 2016 was no different. Continuing our review of the year, deputy editor Rima Sabina Aouf shares her favourites, including seats inspired by comics, a granite throne and a chair with its own microclimate.
Japanese design studio Nendo created this series of 50 chairs based on the abstract lines and grids used in manga-style comic books.
Each polished stainless-steel chair in the collection is intended to emulate a design element used in manga to illustrate emotions or actions.
Read more about the Manga chairs ›
Flax chair by Christien Meindertsma
Christien Meindertsma's Flax chair won two Dutch Design Awards for its innovative use of flax fibre.
The fully biodegradable chair is made from flax fibres combined with PLA – a polylactic acid made from sugarcane or corn starch – and cut from panels that leave no material left over or wasted.
Read more about the Flax chair ›
British designer Max Lamb worked with experts from Italy's mountainous Trentino region to produce the monolithic Campione chair as part of a new initiative called Trentino Collaborations.
The chair is made from a slab of tonalite rock and showcases 14 different stone-carving techniques practised by granite specialists Pedretti Graniti.
Read more about the Campione chair ›
Cassina's Utrecht armchair upholstered by Bertjan Pot
Dutch designer Bertjan Pot created a colourful new bespoke textile for Cassina's classic Utrecht armchair, designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1935.
Covering 90 limited-edition chairs, Pot's BoxBlocks fabric features a unique geometric pattern in which the combination of triangles is never repeated.
Read more about the Utrecht BoxBlocks armchair ›
Pair chair by Layer for Fritz Hansen
Benjamin Hubert's Pair chair for Fritz Hansen has over 8,000 possible unique combinations.
With a pressed plywood seat shell and a translucent polycarbonate backrest, the design of the stackable chair presents an update on the mid-century style pioneered by Fritz Hansen.
Read more about the Pair chair ›
Microclimate chair by Greg Lynn for Nike
Presented at Nike's Nature of Motion exhibition in Milan, this temperature-regulating chair by architect Greg Lynn could help athletes significantly improve their performance.
The high-tech carbon-fibre chair is embedded with electronics designed to cool and heat athletes between periods of exercise.
Read more about the microclimate chair ›
Ace chair by Hans Horneman for Normann Copenhagen
Normann Copenhagen worked with Danish designer Hans Horneman to create this range of flat-packed lounge chairs, which arrive in pieces and can be easily self-assembled.
The chairs feature rounded backs that are flexible to add "a springy feeling".
Read more about the Ace chair ›
Pacific chair by Barber and Osgerby for Vitra
Design duo Barber and Osgerby's minimal and "visually calm" Pacific chair is their first office seating for Vitra.
Launched at the Orgatec 2016 trade fair in Cologne, The Pacific chair conceals its mechanical parts behind an extra-long rectangular backrest, which extends below the base of the seat.
Read more about the Pacific chair ›
Little Big chair by Big-Game for Magis
Swiss studio Big-Game was one of several to launch children's products in Milan, with a miniature adjustable chair.
Designed for kids from two to six years old, Big-Game's Little Big Chair features a lightweight plastic seat shell that fits over a wooden frame.
Read more about the Little Big chair ›
Tree Trunk chair by Maarten Baas
This oversized armchair that would be formed inside a growing tree trunk featured in Dutch designer Maarten Baas's New! Newer! Newest! exhibition in Milan.
Baas' concept Tree Trunk chair would take 200 years to produce and would be grown using a mould pressed into a tree.
Read more about the Tree Trunk chair ›