FRITZ HANSEN’S NEW STACKABLE CHAIR PAIRS MODERN STYLE
AND INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION
During this year’s London Design Festival, Fritz Hansen will pre-launch its new Pair™ chair, adding an unprecedented stackable seating option to its exceptional lineup of timeless design classics. Visually bold and meticulously refined,
the minimalist design channels Fritz Hansen’s signature modern aesthetic. With this new sculptural addition, British designer Benjamin Hubert, founder of the London-based design agency Layer, adds a new chapter to Fritz Hansen’s long-standing success story of manufacturing stackable chairs designed and built to endure.
FRITZ HANSEN & BENJAMIN HUBERT
The Pair™ chair is the result of Fritz Hansen’s first collaboration with the young award-winning designer
Benjamin Hubert. More than 30 prototypes of the chair have been developed over a three-year product development period, reflecting Fritz Hansen’s continued focus and commitment to crafting design that stands
the test of time. Christian Andresen, Head of Design at Fritz Hansen, explains, “Benjamin has inspired us
by creating something really new with a strong emotional story, whilst still embracing the Fritz Hansen DNA.
We have been seeking to expand our contemporary collection to add on our classic collection of stackable
chairs, and with the Pair chair, we hope to meet the demands of the market. Many products can be made in different colours, but very few offer the Pair chair’s visual versatility.”
A CLASSIC LOVE STORY OF OPPOSITES ATTRACTING AND UNITING
The Pair chair is designed as a system of components with a wide variety of possible variations, offering a single product adaptable to any interior environment. It transforms easily to play any role, from creating a relaxed environment at a hospital, to adding the final, playful and charismatic touch to a restaurant interior, to subtly fitting into a company canteen whilst providing the required functionality and hygiene standards.
The Pair chair is the culmination of years of knowledge, quality assurance, and new visions of design and materials, its name reflecting myriad possibilities to juxtapose classic and modern materials in bold new ways.
MASTER OF STEAM-BENT PLYWOOD
Ever since the release of its first stackable chair – The Ant™, designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1952 – Fritz Hansen has been a pioneer in utilising form-pressed plywood to create a strong sense of fluid geometry. The Pair chair embraces and builds upon this mid-century design language. The traditional plywood seat shell is paired with an injection-moulded polycarbonate backrest, creating an interesting interplay between old and new. The backrest is moulded with 10% transparency, elevating the plastic material to give it glass-like quality. The manufacturing process builds on the same nine-layer steam-bent plywood technique used to make the Series 7™ and the Ant™ chairs, continuing Fritz Hansen’s long-established tradition of transforming the material into unprecedented modern forms.
