Side Chair, model no. 322 for the Sanatorium Westend in Purkersdorf

For the dining room and the adjoining glazed veranda of the Sanatorium Westend in Purkersdorf (Lower Austria) Josef Hoffmann designed tables, armchairs, and side chairs, which were executed by the bentwood manufacturers J. & J. Kohn. They correspond to Hoffmann’s conviction about the unity of form and function. The spheres between the legs and the chair frame serve simultaneously as decorative elements and as reinforcements of the stressbearing structure. The flat upholstery pulled over the front frame is a revival of a Biedermeier tradition.