Monolit by Cecilie Manz | Fritz Hansen

The Monolit chair by Cecilie Manz is a pure expression of an upholstered chair, supremely comfortable with a distinct character derived from its monolithic shape.

The back of the seat is like a round protective shell that embraces the user, giving a sense of personal space.

Designed for dining or lounging, the Monolit comes in two heights with diverse upholstery options selected by Manz. The slender profile of its upholstered plywood shells is accentuated by full grain leather piping, defining the contour of the seat and giving it a sharp tailored appearance.

“I wanted to do a nice comfortable and useful chair that didn’t take up too much space and would simply work well. The name Monolit has a lot embedded in it. I wanted it to be really reduced, drawn like a quick sketch, without too many details. I wanted people to read it as one shape, a monolith, but in two defined parts, top and base,” says Manz.

Comfort was imperative, to ensure people sit so well they can spend a whole evening in the chair. The Danish designer notably made the lounge chair higher than typical for such chairs to enable people to get in and out with ease. The seat has a small cut-out on the side at the front to allow for movement.

“The challenging part is to get the two points, comfort and aesthetics, to meet,” says Manz of the lengthy design process. “We tried tonnes of shapes, different angles, different front contours, heights. We have boxes full of paper patterns where we were working out the cut-out of the front, so that you can twist around a bit in the seat. That was very important to me because human beings want to move around and change position, your body does not want to be locked in. With this slight opening you can move but still feel embraced.”

The result is a chair that epitomises understated luxury, its comfort and refined aesthetics perfectly suited for dining or relaxing. The monolithic shape and variety of expressions offered by the designer’s selection of upholstery textiles make Monolit a space changer, adding form and colour to restaurants, homes, open space or informal meeting areas.

“The tactility of the textiles used for the upholstery has a big impact on how the chair looks. I chose a designer’s selection in various densities and colour combinations to show different expressions. The chair has the same mono colour for the outside so you can see the clear shape, the monolith, and some have a contrasting colour on the inside of the seat,” says Manz.

Monolit is offered in two seat heights, dining 45cm and lounge or informal meeting 40cm, in a designers selection of 12 specific combinations of textiles and colours. Customisation is also possible from Fritz Hansen’s extensive upholstery range. The horseshoe-shaped base is finished in metal for stability and cleaning. Piping comes in full grain leather or matched to the upholstery.