Carl Hansen & Søn in Milan

During the design week the Danish company Carl Hansen & Søn broadcasts a new showroom in the city center (Foro Bonaparte, corner via Arco) and new chairs, such as CH22, CH26 and the Metropolitan chair.

The CH22 was the first model in Hans J. Wegner’s debut collection created exclusively for Carl Hansen & Søn in 1950. It is a low armchair with a solid wood construction featuring Wegner’s characteristically shaped armrests and a paper cord seat in what is known as an envelope weave. The chair’s refined joinery is evident in the finger-joined corners of the seat frame, with the forelegs locking into wooden wedges in a color contrasting that of the frame. The distinctive back shell in form-pressed veneer features oblong cover caps as a striking detail. The CH22’s complex, intricately detailed construction may explain why the lounge chair has long been out of production. Today, while parts of the production process have been modernized, the chair is still manufactured as it was more than six decades ago – that is, with excellent hand craftsmanship, from assembly through the surface treatment and seat weaving.

Although the CH26 design also dates back to 1950, the chair had never before been produced, and no mockups existed. The CH26’s striking similarity to the CH22 is evident in the armrests and the characteristic, sweeping form of the armrest supports. Because Wegner intended for the CH26 to serve as a dining or desk chair, he gave serious consideration to the chair’s proportions and its height in relation to tables, adjusting the CH26’s frame and seat structure to enhance strength and stability. The CH26 design has now finally come to life, manufactured in exact accordance with Wegner’s original, hand-drawn sketches, the only exception being two extra centimeters that have been added to the chair’s height to accommodate today’s higher tables and people.

Nature’s strong, noble materials – wood and leather – come together in perfect harmony in a relaunched version of the classic Metropolitan Chair, created by renowned designers Ejner Larsen and Aksel Bender Madsen. Originally designed in 1949 and added to the Carl Hansen & Søn collection in 2014 in a fully upholstered saddle leather version, the chair will now be available in another original edition featuring a veneer back and a leather-upholstered seat.

Carl Hansen & Søn
CH22, CH26, Metropolitan Chair

Foro Buonaparte / via Arco 4
Milano

Salone del Mobile
Hall 5, Stand D04