Created from minimal materials in 1969 by Italian industrial designer and architect Cesare “Joe” Colombo (1930–71), the Tube chair is a sculptural representation of comfort and efficiency. Fitting to its name, the sprawling seat is made from four PVC plastic tubes of different diameters cushioned with polyurethane foam and fastened together with metal clasps. All of the components can be neatly tucked inside of each other, like a Russian doll, making it easy to move and stow away.
Lauded for such unconventional seating as the Elda chair and the Joe Glove armchair, Colombo started out as a painter and studied architecture at the Polytechnic University in Milan before putting his avant-garde spin on product design.
Today, Colombo is revered as a master of modern Italian design thanks to his provocative modular furniture that embodies the future-forward spirit of the Space Age. Colombo believed that furniture should be “interchangeable and programmable,” and the Tube chair’s arrangement of cylinders is as playful as it is integral to adaptability and convenience, properties its maker intended for this pioneering work.
Like his Additional Living System seating in 1967, the individual tubes are designed to be assembled into different configurations in order to best accommodate the sitter. The piece, which was initially accompanied by a cotton drawstring bag for portability, was originally produced by the Italian furniture company Flexform and since 2016 has been available through Cappellini.
Joe Colombo Tube Chair for Flexform 1969 / Milan, Italy
By Joe Colombo
Located in PARIS, FR
Italian architect and designer Joe Colombo responded to the changing social conditions of the 1960s by radically reinventing furniture forms and creating innovative interior environm...
Stainless Steel
Early Edition Pair of Joe Colombo Tube Chair for Flexform, Italy
By Joe Colombo
Located in Brussels, BE
Early Edition Pair of Joe Colombo Tube Chairs for Flexform The Tube Chair, designed in 1969 by Joe Colombo for Flexform, is an iconic example of radical Italian design. Composed of ...
Fabric, Plastic, Wood
$8,006Sale Price|20% Off
H 37.01 in W 37.41 in D 39.38 in
Elda Chair by Joe Colombo for Comfort - 1960's Italy
By Joe Colombo
Located in Lisboa, PT
Iconic Elda Chair by Joe Colombo for Comfort - Collectible Design Masterpiece The Elda Chair, designed by visionary Italian designer Joe Colombo for Comfort in the 1960s, is an unpa...
Leather, Fiberglass
Kartell Joe Colombo Chair in Crystal by Joe Colombo
By Kartell, Joe Colombo
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A true symbol of Sixties design, famous also for being the only piece by Kartell made entirely of wood. Contemporary technology has made it possible to create the same product using ...
Plastic
Joe Colombo Swivel "Elda" Italian Lounge Chair
By Comfort, Italy, Joe Colombo
Located in Vienna, AT
Lounge chair designed by Joe Colombo (1930-1971) in 1963 model "Elda"for Comfort. Made of fiberglass structure reupholstered with creme bouclé fabric which make it very unique. It ha...
Bouclé, Fiberglass
$11,900 / set
H 23.23 in W 27.56 in D 25.99 in
Pair of Joe Colombo Chairs No. 4801, Black Plywood Wood, Kartell, Italy, 1960s
By Kartell, Joe Colombo
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A pair of "interlocking" lounge chairs by Joe Colombo for Kartell, Italy, manufactured in Mid-Century, circa 1963. Joe Colombo's iconic 4801 armchair was designed in 1963/1964. A mod...
Plywood, Wood, Bentwood
$6,475
H 22.84 in W 25.6 in D 24.81 in
Joe Colombo for Kartell Armchair Mod. 4801 Numbered No. 29, Italy 1960s
By Kartell, Joe Colombo
Located in Naples, IT
Fantastic and large white curved beech wood armchair, Mod. 4801 Designer Joe Colombo and produced by Kartell in Italy , an icon of Italian Modernism. A limited number of wooden 4801 ...
Leather, Wood
Joe Colombo Elda swivel chair in original condition.
By Joe Colombo
Located in Greensboro, NC
Iconic swiveling "Elda Chair" by Italian designer Joe Colombo. This chair was designed in 1963, and put into production in 1965. Our chair is an early production in original condit...
Leather, Fiberglass
$12,246Sale Price|5% Off
H 36.62 in W 37.41 in D 36.23 in
Vintage iconic Joe Colombo Elda armchair, Italian Space Age 1960s, Black Leather
By Joe Colombo, Comfort, Italy
Located in Milano, IT
Iconic Armchair , Vintage Italian Armchair , Joe Colombo , Elda It’s 1963, Space Age is at its dawn, and Italian architect Joe Colombo designs a piece that will define the aestheti...
Leather, Fiberglass
Elda Lounge Chair by Joe Colombo for Comfort, Italy 1960s
By Comfort, Italy, Joe Colombo
Located in bruxelles, BE
Swivel armchair in beige canvas and black shell by Joe Colombo. Elda model. Seat height 40 cm. Wear due to time and age of armchair. FOR SHIPPING, REQUEST US FOR RECEIVE THE BEST PRICE
Fiberglass, Canvas
$5,950 / item
H 23.23 in W 27.56 in D 25.99 in
Joe Colombo Chair No. 4801, Black Plywood, Kartell, Italy, 1960s, One of Two
By Kartell, Joe Colombo
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
One of two "interlocking" lounge chairs designed by Joe Colombo for Kartell, Italy, manufactured in midcentury. Joe Colombo's iconic 4801 armchair was designed in 1963-1964. A modern chair with striking visual appeal by the master of Italian Space Age design. A limited number of wood 4801 chairs...
Plywood
$18,700
H 36.42 in W 37.21 in D 38.39 in
Joe Colombo for Comfort 'Elda' Lounge Chair in Red Leather and Fiberglass
By Joe Colombo, Comfort, Italy
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Joe Colombo for Comfort, lounge chair ‘Elda’, fiberglass, leather, Italy, design 1963 The ‘Elda’ chair is one of the most well-known designs of Italian designer Joe Colombo. This lo...
Leather, Fiberglass
$11,185
H 37.41 in W 36.62 in D 36.62 in
Vintage Elda Chair in Grey Leather and Black Shell by Joe Colombo, Italy
By Joe Colombo
Located in Buggenhout, Oost-Vlaanderen
Stylish color combination on this vintage Elda chair. Still 100% original. Great patinated grey leather with a black fiberglass shell. This iconic “Elda” armchair was designed...
Leather
Joe Colombo 'Multichair' in Black for B-Line
By Joe Colombo
Located in Tilburg, NL
Joe Colombo 'Multichair' designed in 1970 in black for B-Line Multichair is a convertible system consisting of two individual elements that can easily turn into a conversation/relax...
Fabric
Sold
H 25.2 in W 24.41 in D 42.52 in
Early edition 'Tube Chair' designed by by Joe Colombo for Flexform, 1960s
By Joe Colombo
Located in amstelveen, NL
Joe Colombo, Tube chair, Flexform, Italy, circa 1969. This is a genuine 1st edition Joe Colombo's Classic "Tube" or "Tubo" chair, constructed from fiberglass shells overlaid with f...
Steel
Joe Colombo Tube Chair
By Joe Colombo, Flexform
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Original first-issue Tube lounge chair, designed by Joe Colombo for Flexform. A highly collectible example of Italian postmodern design by the vision...
PVC
Joe Colombo Tube Chair
By Joe Colombo, Flexform
Located in New York, NY
Produced in the 1960s the tube chair but Joe Colombo is a unique play on shapes and space. Like Russian dolls, the plastic tubes stack and fit in one-anothe...
Foam, PVC
Tube Chair by Joe Colombo
By Joe Colombo
Located in Brussels, BE
Iconic tube chair by Joe Colombo, 1969. Manufactured by Flexform. Modular chair with plastic tubes, foam and covered by a polyurethane coat.
Plastic
Joe Colombo Tubo Chair
By Joe Colombo
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Joe Colombo for Flexform, Italy, circa 1969. This is a genuine vintage example of Colombo's Classic "Tube" or "Tubo" chair, constructed from fiber glass shells overlaid with foam and...
"Tube Chair" by Joe Colombo for Flexform, 1968-1969
By Joe Colombo
Located in New York, NY
"Tube Chair" in four parts. Designed by Joe Colombo for Flexform, Italy, 1968-1969. Joe Colombo, Italian architect and designer, responded to the changing social conditions of the...
Foam, PVC
