Zig Zag Chair – Design Showcase

A modern classic, the Zig Zag Chair by Gerrit Reitveld is often seen in contemporary interior.

The deceptively simple design is the result of a complex construction using four elements joined with dovetail joints and fixed with brass nuts and bolts through triangular blocks.

While designing the Schroder House in Utrecht Holland, Reitveld wanted to create a chair from one piece. The Zig Zag Chair was created between 1932 to 1934.

The design is an expression of “De Stijl” (Dutch for “The Style”) movement and can be used either as a chair or a side table. Variations include one with arm rest.

The design was radical in its time as it was a complete departure from the chairs designed then. For a start, it has no legs, is unadorned, consists of planes only and the supporting part is diagonal.

It was originally manufactured by G.A. van de Groenekan, De Bilt, Netherlands but from 1971, Cassina has the manufacturing rights.

This chair now resides in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

About The Designer

The Dutch designer, architect and painter Gerrit Rietveld was born in 1888, Utrecht, Holland. The son of a carpenter, Gerrit Rietveld was employed in his father's workshop until he was fifteen.

By the time he established a furniture workshop in 1917, Gerrit Rietveld taught himself drawing, painting and model-making. He found the art movement De Stijl in 1919 together with artists Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian, and other artists and would become one of the most important and influential artists in that celebrated group.

In 1924/25 Gerrit Rietveld designed the "Schröder House" for Truus Schröder in Utrecht. This first attempt as an architect would result in a building that became the architectural manifesto of the De Stijl movement.

He moved on to design many buildings and interiors but his biggest project, however, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, was not completed until nine years after he died in 1964.

Photo credit: www.designboom.com, www.architonic.com

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