NELSON BRIDGE’S LIST OF TOP TEN MODERN CHAIRS - #1 - THE EGG CHAIR

The Egg Chair, #1 in our list of Most Favorite Modern Chairs.

Ah, the #1 most wonderful modern chair.  Can there really be only one for all modern occasions?  Perhaps not… But the Egg Chair, nonetheless, is surely among the ten greatest.  It is on the one hand, like so many of the other chairs in our list: an innovative use of material, utilizing a fiberglass shell. But beyond that, it is an icon that recognized a new freedom of form brought on by the modern movement.  Many other chairs have been compared to the Egg, including Eero Saarinen’s womb chair but the Egg is far more pure in form and concept than the Womb (that tends to be a more contrived shape).

Designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958, the Egg was first used throughout the SAS Hotel in Copenhagen. Fritz Hansen  has continuously manufactured the Egg since its inception, and recently celebrated 50 years of the egg’s production with a commemorative Egg in Brown Suede. While Jacobson is perhaps best known for his chairs, including the Ant and the Swan as well as others, he is also recognized as one of Denmark’s best architects of the 20th century.  His commissions included the St. Catherine’s College at Oxford.

Nonetheless, his chairs continue to be his finest and most memorable achievements.  The Egg chair in particular continues to be as fresh and original today as it was 50 years ago.  It is a remarkably memorable icon of modern furniture whose expressive form adds life to any room it inhabits and makes this our #1 most favorite Modern Chair.

Learn more about Arne Jacobsen and The Egg Chair:

Fritz Hansen Furniture

Wikipedia: Egg Chair

Wikipedia: Arne Jacobsen

Design Within Reach: Egg Chair

EggChair. Com