Chairs By Famous Architects

By Jackie Craven, About.com Guide

Forget the skyscrapers. Forget the cathedrals, museums, and airports. The greatest architects of modern times didn't stop at buildings. They designed lamps, tables, sofas, beds, and chairs. And whether designing a high-rise or a footstool, they expressed the same lofty ideals.

Shown above is a line of furnishings that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1955. His goal was to create modular furnishings that residents could shape according to their needs. The storage case along the back wall is actually seven separate units.

For Frank Lloyd Wright, harmony was the key. Like the Arts and Crafts architects of the early 20th century, he custom-designed his furnishings for the spaces they would occupy. In contrast, Modernist designers reached for universality. They wanted to design furniture that could fit in any setting.

In the following pages, we'll look at several famous chairs by famous architects. Although designed decades ago, each chair seems sleek and contemporary today. And if you like these chairs, you can buy them. (See the Where to Buy links below.) A quality reproduction can be pricey, however. For the chairs shown here, expect to pay from $500 to $1,900 US. See the chairs >

Previous

• Architecture You Can Sit On
• The Barrel Chair by Frank Lloyd Wright
• The Hill House Chair By Charles Rennie Mackintosh
• Modernist Chairs
• The Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe
• The Nonconformist Chair by Eileen Gray

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