Side Chair for the Café Museum

This chair is the first piece of bent wood furniture created as a cooperation between architects and the bent wood industry in the course of the Viennese “Sacred Spring Movement” around 1900. In keeping with his conviction not to substitute once valid and functioning creations purely for the sake of something newer or more fashionable, Adolf Loos opted for a type of chair which was already available, re-designing it to suit the specific requirements. From the Anglo-American design tradition he adopted the saddled seat for its greater comfort. He reduced or reinforced the diameter of the various constructional components relative to the stress each one bore. As the most striking innovation, Loos finally had the chair stained a vibrant red, in order to provide a clear contrast to the mahogany panelling of the interior.