Why everyone has this chair
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- Опубліковано 3 кві 2022
- This two-legged chair has been famous for almost 100 years.
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If your internet overlaps even a little bit with mine, you’ve seen a Cesca (also known as a B32). The cantilevered cane and chrome chair is all over the place: in trendy homes, on movies and tv sets, even tattooed on people's bodies. But Instagram’s favorite chair is not exactly new.
It was designed nearly 100 years ago by an architect named Marcel Breuer, while he was a student at the Bauhaus, the famed German art school. This somewhat unassuming two-legged chair is the realization of a manifestos-worth of utopian ideals about design and functionality. So maybe it’s no surprise it has somehow remained in fashion for decades: It’s a design icon. And just a really, really nice looking chair.
To learn more about Marcel Breuer, “Marcel Breuer: Furniture and Interiors” by Christopher Wilk is a great resource: www.moma.org/documents/moma_c...
If you want to read about the Bauhaus, check out “Bauhaus Construct: Fashioning Identity, Discourse and Modernism,” edited By Jeffrey Saletnik and Robin Schuldenfrei: www.routledge.com/Bauhaus-Con...
And to see some scans of original Bauhaus publications, check out Bauhaus Bookshelf: www.bauhaus-bookshelf.org/bau...
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Thanks for watching! This video is part of our series By Design, all about the intersection of design and technology, from fonts to furniture. Watch more here: bit.ly/3KaMKTZ
Thank you Vox.
Do some more research on mart stam, you'll find out that it wasn't Breuer who was the first to come up with the idea of using tubular steel in chairs
Remove the Holodomor video
Bent 16 times? I'm just trying to count all 16. Can't get more than 12..
I am currently siting on the same chair
I've never seen this chair in my life but I guarantee I'm going to start seeing it everywhere having watched this video.
Mood
Someone tell me whats this called? Like u get to know something and then u see it everywhere ? Is there a some name for this effect?
@@framesfc Its called “google tracking your internet history and sharing it with advertisers and other websites because it believes this is something you’re interested in”.
@@framesfc It's called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon :D
@@bookiehillbilly personalized ads ah how scary
This definitely goes in the "things I didn't know that I needed to know" category. Thanks!
Hahaha same!
Who asked?
@@Yuri_alphq The algorithm demands comments to fuel YT channels. I am trying to support content that I like.
@@clickchick760 bro chill ik I'm just jk
Frfr
The design not being copyrighted is a HUGE factor in why this chair design is everywhere. It meant every company that makes chairs could make this chair, so there were so many and it was so cheap that loads of people bought it.
also the chair is simplistic, bohemian and modern at the same time. this is the style that many people go for these days
modern? nah... i wouldnt buy it for my new house unless i was trying to go for a 90s aesthetic
Rattan is also becoming very popular
Thanks for KIND of saying what is already said in the video within the first minute …
Mine are 25 years old, still looks good. Didn't know you could still get them.
@@larsstougaard7097 if you’re ever considering selling them, I’d be very happy to take them off your hands 🤷🏻♂️
Perfect title. You get the attention of those who have the chair and came here to find out more, and those who don't have the chair and came here to say they dont!
Like me (don't have that chair). 😄
Yes
Actually, enough with these long videos about very transparent topics. Ree
I don't have this chair but like they said it is everywhere
Well said lol
When told the chairs were outdated, Her mom really said, “leave them chairs alone. They’ll never go out of style.” So true ☺️
True! We still have our set kept. I just wanted to have the caning fix but quality is way better than the stuff you can buy at the stores. Saving money to have them fixed and finally get rid of the chairs my sister bought cos the new ones are horrible.
Literally, Almost every Indian Govt office, schools(for Teachers) constructed before 2010s had one of those at least at some point of time
Just came to say this that it's the Government of India chair it's everywhere although based on your rank nowadays you get an old time wooden chair
@@avirajsinghmehta1857 Well most of the offices have switched to modern chairs nowadays
Exactly, those are the places I knew this chair from
@Zaydan Naufal There used to be different variant of this chair, one with wood, with strings (some synthetic material), ig leather was there too...tho I don't remember correctly
@Zaydan Naufal That's interesting!!
I just recorded a video last night showcasing this chair and now I feel like I need to re-record that section to take this video into account 😅👍
😆 🤣 😂 😹
🤣
me who has never seen this chair before: ah yes ofc i wonder why
Same. Never seen this chair before, but maybe sometimes in movies
Lol that was my same reaction 😅
There are in the Western World everywhere, mainly in offices.
@@aurobhatta maybe we have seen it in movies. Just not noticed it.still. i havent ever had it in my home or seen it anywhere else
@@Mansory811 I’m Irish and don’t recognize it, that’s western
It is just great piece of dutch/german design. You could have included the whole Stam vs. Breuer discussion which makes this chair even more interesting in my mind.
Can you line that out for me? Never heard of that discussion before, why does it make the chair more interesting?
@@derAtze I'll try to be brief. Mart Stam from the Netherlands designed the so called Kragstuhl in 1926. That chair looks almost like the more famous Breuer chair. Although it didn't have the flexibility which makes a cesca chair so comfortable. In 1927 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (German architect who also was part of the Bauhaus) also designed a Freischwinger (cesca chair) for the famous Weißenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart, Germany. Then Marcel Breuer took that design and made it flexible making it the chair we know today.
In 1929 a lawsuit was filed by the holder of the rights to Mart Stams design against a company called Thonet. Thonet produced a lot of Bauhaus furniture back then and still does so today. In the trial the Reichsgericht (highest German court back then) decided that Mart Stam hat the copyright to the chair.
But here's a twist. Mies van der Rohe had filed a patent for his chair. That patent was challenged but the Reichsgericht rejected that. So although Mart Stam owned the rights to the overall design, Mies van der Rohe owned the patent to the technical design of the chair. Marcel Breuer didn't officially have partly copyright rights.
I hope I could give a brief overview from the top of my head. There's certainly more to this. Its still today a discussed topic in German arts history.
Oh and you can still by the Kragstuhl by Mart Stam today. It's built by Thonet. Just like the Breuer chair ;)
Oh my god. Why do you know this.
@@accountthatillusetocomment3041 I love German Bauhaus design (my mom also wrote her master's thesis about Marcel Breuer so thats a big influence) and I grew up in Stuttgart a stone's throw away from the Weißenhofsiedlung 😅
since you mentioned dutch/german design, i would like to mention that Breuer himself was - simply put - Hungarian. But I will not argue neither over his nationality nore over the "nationality" of his design - that would be nonsence. I'm okay with you writing the chair is dutch/german design since these other guys were also involved and all of this happened at the Bauhaus, etc...
Never thought a simple chair can have so much thoughts, engineering and history behind it! An eyeopener!
I never thought that you have a thought that you never thought a simple chair can have much thoughts!
Yeah people don’t really think about that stuff but this chair has a totally regular amount of engineering. Lots of history and thought tho lol
This goes for most high end design and fashion. Plebs usually don’t know all of the work that goes into manifesting it.
Asking prices for the 80s ones being anything more than $5 is hilarious because they were the defacto "Cheap table set" of the time especially in a brass color. You could buy a set of 4 with a octagonal table at from like Fingerhut and bolt them together. I can recall NUMEROUS times someone of larger stature bouncing away in one like a rocking chair and having it collapse under them.
I remember us having some in the 80s and cheap is right. I think though that they took some bad liberties. I remember the tubular steel being in segments. The chairs would wobble all the time before we got rid of them.
When she mentioned a single tube I realized how far the design had fallen. Personally I’m not nostalgic for these because of those shoddy chairs.
OMG my parents had the octagon table with these chairs and I also thought it was so cheap.
As a larger person I can verify these chairs are not larger person friendly
We had them in the 80s but they were not the flimsy cheap ones. My parents must’ve gone for the quality ones but that’s not surprising given my mother’s taste in quality furnishings.
"full disclosure: i have been sitting on this chair since 1999"
just stand up
Legends say that she's still sitting on this chair to this day.
I have seen and sat on one of this cesca chair 20 years ago in a very nice restaurant. It was so awesome !
It was made of wrought iron, with a curve arm rest, extremely cooling, and beautifully crafted with designs.
The wrought iron gave it a sturdy feel and you can bounce on the chair any how you want it....like a trampolin except you are sitted and you still feel very safe on it.
It gave me an unforgetable experience indeed.
“Benst tubular steel was Bauhaus as heck...”
Such lovely prosody. The script is beautifully written, like poetry -a paean to classic design.
I'm just simply amazed on how modern it looks. the one steel bent 16 times is a win for me. almost a perfect chair
As a German I appreciate your covering the Bauhaus.
German efficiency
Danke
Why?
To me, it seems like the Bauhaus is brought up almost all the time, especially in regards to modernism, or WWII.
@@vinny9868 Bauhaus has little to nothing to do with WW II.
The bauhuas movement has made architecture less beautiful and rather the same. This has led to see less creativity in everything. I really miss the art that was taken away from our unique and traditional arts. Hope it comes back.
Interesting! I don’t have this chair but I’ve seen it in A LOT of movies
I've never seen the chair in my life, but I guess I'll be looking out for it more now, Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon and all…
Vox manages to come up with the most random topics that I didn’t know I needed to know about and now I need to obsessively watch the video till the end before I can get on with my life.
Not too random because in the interior design world 'mid century' furniture and aesthetic have become quite the rage the last 4-5 years and these chairs have become collector's item phenom. You use to be able to find these in thrift stores and yard sales for $2-10 each but great condition ones go for up to $200 now ;)
In the 80s, my college years, I had a glass top with wood frame, octagon table and these style chairs. In brass color. The chairs were strong but light weight. The seat was wide and cushiony. I was able to sit "Indian style" on them.
I regretted getting rid of it at the time , now I know why.
were they the singular piece of steel kind? might have been the design type that wobbled a lot. If so, don't fret about discarding them
I had that same thing when I moved out of my parents' house in 1982. I always knew them as "Breuer Chairs" and now I know where the name came from (although mine were knock-offs from Target)
I love design and I love this series! Great work 👏🏽
It actually is very futuristic looking even today. Truly a timeless chair.
I can't believe my student dorm chair is actually of a highly sought after design 😂
These were VERY popular in dinette sets with glass-topped tables in the '80s. One of the few pieces of furniture I've ever purchased new. Gave it away after a few years as glass-topped tables are a monster to keep clean but the chairs were great!
I had the same dinette set in the ' 80s. My first purchase too. Didn't know they were popular again.
It was bugging me seeing these pop up lately. We had a set in the '80s, then you'd see them all over thrift stores in the '90s. I thought they had all but disappeared by 2000+.
So much 80s nostalgia when seeing this chair. They seemed to be everywhere back then. Comparably, I don't think you see a lot of them anymore. Haven't seen one in a long time. I see a lot more versions of the Y or seven chair than I do this one.
My mom still has a 5 set dining piece of four of these chairs, and a circular glass table with the "Bauhaus" center metal frame. I've always liked the dining pieces because 1) it worked, 2) it was simple. All my friends' houses always had gaudy thick furniture, so I think I really learned to like the unique, utilitarian aspect.
VOX by Design is the sole reason why I’m subscribed to this channel, thank you for never disappointing .. great info & montage / editing as usual 💙
We have eight of them which we bought around 1967, along with an 8 foot pedestal table with a 2 inch oak top.
Our chairs have upholstered seats and backs, not wicker. Cesca chairs in the Knoll catalog today cost about $1,000 each depending on style. We have used the table and chairs every day and we had to renovate them about 15 years ago.
Meanwhile the monoblock chair:
*"Finally, a worthy opponent. Our battle will be legendary!"*
@Zaydan Naufal uhh....circumcision? you sure you don't mean convocation?
I had never seen this chair!
Because in these Cheddar, Vox, etc type videos "everyone" means people in the US.
Can’t believe I grow up with these in my home back in 90’s, only these days I realize my mom always had a great sense of style. I want this or Wassily chair at my own home now! Both are amazing
My grandparents had these chairs in their breakfast room. Aside from the wicker tearing on occasion, they were fantastic. Always fun to bounce on as a kid as well.
We had those many years ago, just without the arm rests. Simple, very functional and also very comfortable.
My grandmother had this chair in her kitchen for years. I now have it, 20 plus years later. It looks brand new, love this chair!
I have 4 of these over 25 years old, still looks nice, simple but good quality
I remember growing up in the 90’s my parents had this chair but the backing and the seat were this faux velvet red. Weird … but ill never forget it and this brings back memories!
It has everything: it is memorable, functional, sturdy, comfortable, versatile... it is just perfect!
@3:56 The "16 bends" she refers to is for the B64 Cesca Chair with Arms. Also, neither the B32 (Armless) or B64 (Arms) contains a continuous member across the seat back as depicted in this single line diagram.
You're right, I believe that was started with the Gispen 101.
I was super confused too
My College had infinite supply of these at one point, but by the time I joined, they seemed to forget that students need chairs.
So I couldn't get a chair from college, and I couldn't afford to buy one,
So I did lots of dumpster dives, found many broken chairs of this types. And Frankensteined them to be working chairs.
I had 3 of them by the end of college. And I miss them the most...
I have two Cescas. I love them. they are one of the most comfortable chair have ever had
Glad to know this is one of the top chairs of the 20th century. That's an absolutely riveting list I need the rest of
I’ve never seen this chair before but after this now I kind of want one 😅
It’s simple but functional and modern.
Plus looks comfortable too.
I adore this chair but not because of the overall shape. I just like anything that has weaved cane like this.
I thought it was rattan when I saw the thumbnail traditionally our chairs and beds had such weaving
I am LIVING for all of this built environment content
Thanks for sharing this chair ❤❤❤
Omg🤕 I had fell so many times from this chair in my childhood. If you push even slightly backwards with your legs in the air, you are gone. I avoid it even today, such is the fear in my mind.
It should be called one of the dangerous chairs in the world 😳
Although one benefit was that it improved my posture because you have to be very disciplined while sitting in order to avoid falling.
bro that’s just operator error
@@hazza2247 thats chair error. Why would a chair not let you rock
I think the mesh is not that long lasting. Once there's a hole in it the chair is visually impaired but still far from being worth it to replace the sitting area.
Ok, just checked how to repair it: seems like it's doable at home with a little patience. The wood frame can be separated from the webbing. Still, you need to find the cane webbing first.
I am literally sitting in one while I came across this. I love this chair for it is just genius how a bent steel rod can hold a human comfortably in air with a little pleasant rocking movement.
Great video. I take an interest in vintage and second hand furniture and I hadn't given any thought to why these are so popular. Here in Australia a single vintage Cesca (not a replica) chair in good condition is around $500
The Sims 4 recently went from having no Cesca chairs, to having three Breuer-style chairs, with the release of High School Years. One is a metal school chair, one is a wooden chair made for the school cafeterias, and one is a wooden chair called "Marcel-Style". We still don't have any rattan Cesca chairs, though!
Along about 1972, my grandparents had lawn chairs that were 100% steel and were design clones of these much lighter, fancier chairs. They were very heavy, durable, and uncomfortable with their steel back and seat. I guess a spin-off version of the original, for sitting outdoors in the country, shucking corn, and breaking beans for canning. Those were some tough chairs.
Love the structural design of the chair... the cane just makes it look old-fashioned.
Had this chair in the 80’s and 90’s with a beautiful teak table with one huge butterfly leaf. Great table. Bought both at The Scandinavian Store.
i have just seen this chair for the first time yet i am already having anxiety about leaning on it
it's actually pretty sturdy unless you're severely overweight it can easily accommodate you.
@@aaronstanley6914 yeah, I tried sitting on this chair once in a local McDonald’s, pretty sturdy for a chair with an ominous appearance.
Had them in the early 90's & we had a couple hefty friends & they did OK.
I have several of these from the late 80s, I still have a new model from a few years ago, the best thing about these is that you never sweat in a chair, it's like sitting in air, so comfy 😝👍🏼
I’ve bought four B32 at the trift shop for only 90 euro. They are amazing and an absolute design icon. Really liked this video!
I’ve never seen this chair before until this video.
My grandpa had Breuer-style dining chairs like this
The woven seat and backing kept breaking and had to be repaired…
But they were great
Not as comfortable as a padded dining chair but far better than a solid metal, wood, or plastic chair
I always wanted those chairs for my own space
I couldn’t find them and his ended up donated
So I bet since they’re coming back I’m sure to find one now! For way too much money lol
My parents had these same chairs when I was growing up. It was an entire dining room table set. Nostalgic.
You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a new by Design episode.
My parents had those when I was growing up, they were a bit of a mess tho because the weaved part would break after a while (specially because we usually rested all the weight of our bodies on one knee and feet on them). That’s why after fixing them (and scolding us) many times, they retired them to the kitchen… but they made a mess on the tile floor because we had lost the little plastic things that protected the floor from the metal. After 20 years the frame gave in so I would say they were a bit of a mess for our household
They were in so many factories in UK. They were cheep, light and a bit more doorable than plastic ones. Wouldn't call them comfortable though. All the overlocker I ever knew strapped cushions to the leg numbing things.
Architects are obsessed with chairs and this is one of best, because it is the most comfortable. Along with the #14 nothing is more pure and elegant.
Very nice! ❤️ Please make such videos more.. very intriguing! ❤️
OMG my dad is lawyer and since growing up we had like so many of these, in fact I am sitting on one right now !!!
Why is it necessary to say that your dad is a lawyer?
@@ZeroGravity23 Because from where I am, thats a very big part of why we owned these chairs. Usually these chairs were found in courts and when my dad was setting up his office at home, he decided to go with these chairs. The one I am sitting on is more than 20 years old lol.
How do you get 16 bends in the frame? I count only 10, 2 of which set the back at its slight angle.
Also, visual designs like that of the Cesca chair are protected by patent, not copyright, and design patents only last 14 years. Thus, regardless of whether had acquired legal protection in the US for his design (he did not), the patent would have expired by the time the design rose to widespread popularity. And, it's even possible that a patent on the design would have been refused, based on prior art - the fact that bent steel tubing had been used for similar furniture pieces quite extensively before Breuer's design.
I don't understand where the "16 bends" come from either.
lol i went down a rabbit hole about chair design last year during lockdown. really enjoyed this video and hoping for more about the wassily, thonet and eames.
The Wassily chair!!! I never knew it's name but my grandmother still has two of them, I think hers were custom painted by some other artist from back in the day with cityscapes on the back and arm rest leather bands
Gonna disagree that the over-the-top handle on a teapot is 'more comfortable' than one with a side handle. As a regular teapot user, the top ones require an awkward and uncomfortable twisting of the hand, arm, and wrist whilst the side ones are much easier to pour.
the way my grandparents literally have this as their dining chair…
THANK YOU, MARCEL BREUER,!!!!
I swear I have never seen one of these chair before.. my favorite chair model is the white plastic lawn chair , simplicity at its finest
I’m Australian and I’ve seen these chairs everywhere
I was going to say, i’ve never seen them
I really appreciated this history. These always look so 70s-80s in design to me that they do not appeal. However, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's MR20 Bauhaus chair is gorgeous (despite the shortcomings mentioned in the video). But maybe it's just me.
Yep, grew up sitting at a table with these in the 90s! I just sent this to my mom hoping she still has them!
I love this video so much!!
We absolutely had a pair of these growing up I the 80s. We got rid of then when the cane started breaking.
never meet that chair in my life
Looking at Bauhaus designs makes me happy.
I grew up with Thonet S32 in the kitchen and they’re finally getting appreciated
Just had an presentation about this today, such a coincidence!
Here in Germany, I see the leather version more frequently than the wooden one.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Never had one. Now I want one.
Precious.
Great title for striking the eye of people who have the chair and those who are confused
Never seen this chair. Never heard of it. I don't have it. I clicked
please please please make By Design series more. I love it!
Yes my parents absolutely have had these chairs since the 90s
Guys, I don’t have it.
I had that design. I had a bad habit of rocking on my chair, standing it on the rear only. Well, one day I rocked and then so gently and silently, the chair folded up, leaving me comfortably on the floor. Since then, I have to have four legs on the floor.
I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!!!!!
I have this chair in my house! Four of them, actually.
My dinning room table and chairs are from the 50s. Beautiful red and white, and metal. The chairs are Cesca chairs, made from leather instead of cane.
Imagine my surprise when I saw my dinning room table chairs as a Vox video.
Literally EVERYONE has this chair? I don't.
Oh gosh, what a clever observation. Are you okay? You must be tired.
I've literaly never seen a chair like that in my life. If I've ever seen it in a movie, it was too unremarkable for me to remember.
One of my favourites!
Thank you very much for this information
ironically, i dont have this chair!
I don’t have this chair
Never seen a chair like this in my life until now.
We had one of these in a place I worked at years ago that would fall backwards when you sat in it. That was enough for me to never sit in one back then, or ever since.