Hans Wegner 'Conference Chair' in Moss Green Velvet and Teak

Hans J. Wegner for Plan Møbler, 'Conference' armchair, model 'B123', teak, velvet, Denmark, design 1940

The easy chair 'B123' was designed by Hans J. Wegner during the period that he worked in the Jacobsen Office. In his second year at school, Wegner was invited to make all the furnishings for The Aarhus City Hall. These chairs were thus uniquely designed to fit the building. The building was designed by architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller. The design of this conference chair is simplistic, yet has something royal due its wide appearance. The frame is made of stained teak, which gives a luxurious feel in combination with the moss green velvet upholstery. The characteristic angular joint of the armrest is a trademark of Wegner's early work.

Hans Wegner (1914-2007) is one of the most prolific furniture designers of the world. Wegner was born in 1914 in Denmark and began his apprenticeship with Danish master cabinetmaker H.F. Stahlberg when he was fourteen years old. Afterwards, he moved to Copenhagen and attended the School of Arts and Crafts between 1936 and 1938. In 1938, he was approached by the architects and designers Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller. It was also during this period that he started to collaborate with cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen. In 1943, he established his own studio, and he became one of the most renowned and creative Danish furniture designers. Wegner's furniture was designed with the greatest understanding of materials, construction techniques, and use. Wegner is known to have thorough understanding of the materials he worked with, yet his greatest aim was to create expressive and exciting design. Although Wegner was a functionalist, he was not a rational dogmatist such as Kaare Klint, of whom he was a student. Instead, his designs sparkle with inventiveness and sculptural sense. But this never meant that his organic and sensuous forms left the strict rules of functionalism. At heart, Wegner was an idealist. He was relentless in his quest for the best chair: 'there is never one damn thing that cannot be made better'. However, Wegner was aware that he could not create the 'perfect' chair, which gave him the freedom to produce as much as possible. He left behind more than 3500 drawings and about 500 of his designs went into production. His designs feature in the UN Building and Seagram Building in New York, UNESCO's headquarters. NATO's headquarters in Paris, and several buildings by the architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

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