Set of Six Model W1 Chairs Werner West

Description

A set of six model W1 dining chairs designed by Werner West circa 1930 and made by Wilhelm Schauman Fanerfabrik AB in Jyväskylä, Finland, before 1940.
Throughout his career West designed numerous public spaces in Finland.
Having designed the interiors of department stores, banks, restaurants, hotels and, perhaps most famously, the Parliament House (completed 1931) West developed a specialism for designing high-quality, durable furniture for industrial production.
The W1 chair can thus be said to epitomise West’s work as it absolutely meets the criteria above.
The chair is made entirely of solid and laminated steam bent birch. Having been so well considered in terms of construction and materials the chair has not only lasted physically but is very much still a design that people want to be around today.
The shapes and proportions used in the design are strong and sturdy yet visually playful and lightweight. Most eye-catching is how the straight front legs contrast with the circular seat in relation to cured back legs and large swooping backrest. None of these elements are purely aesthetic details though. For example, the large curve of the backrest is designed to hook onto the table top allowing the floor beneath the raised chairs to be swept -this feature highlights West’s concerns for utilitarian design and public use. With well-considered industrially made furniture West helped make functionalism and modern interior design known and then customary in Finland. But West also supported craftsmanship and individuality in his work and helped found the Finnish Association of Decorative Artists Ornamo in 1911.

Specification

Width: 51 cm
Height: 72 cm
Depth: 45 cm
Seat Height: 43 cm