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Willy Guhl, Steel and Concrete Design Bench, Switzerland, circa 1950s

$17,972.15
£13,376.62
€15,000
CA$24,617.36
A$27,379.88
CHF 14,296.92
MX$333,183.96
NOK 182,593.49
SEK 171,240.48
DKK 114,189.76
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About the Item

Mid-century floating bench designed by Swiss Architect Willy Guhl. Seater concrete monocoque is in good condition and the tubular steel base has been completely restored, sanded and repainted with orange paint. Work carried out by a professional car/vehicle body repairer and painter. Generally these benches are found in fiberglass. This fiber-concrete version is much rarer. Willy Guhl was well known for its minimal designs which is clearly visible in the design of this bench. Perfect for a minimalist decoration, in a garden, around a swimming pool. This bench was bought by an architect-decorator in the 1950s to decorate a classy French house. Circa 1950s. Good condition. Free delivery for France. Ask for a quote for other countries. Swiss neo-functionalist designer Willy Guhl (1915–2004) was an innovative furniture designer, product designer, and early proponent of mass-produced, flat-packed furniture that made high-quality designs accessible to the greater number. Guhl is best remembered for his cement designs produced by the Swiss company Eternit. Born in 1915 in Stein-am-Rhein in German-speaking Switzerland, Guhl trained as a cabinetmaker at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich and opened his own design studio and workshop in 1939. The Bankstuhl rectangular seat (1941) — consisting of a rattan seat and armrest allowing the formation of a line of seats when combined with other models - is among his first furniture designs for Röthlisberger. Guhl held the position of professor of interior design at the university where he had studied and then became director in 1951 and established the first Product Design center in Switzerland. During post-war reconstruction in Europe, Guhl helped design low-cost, easy-to-build social housing. Guhl was motivated by the desire to discover innovative ways of building houses that required the development of modern technologies and materials. The Swiss designer was among the first to create furniture from fiberglass, of which the Scobalit Chair (dating from the late 1940s) is a good example. In 1951, the Swiss company Eternit, which initially specialized in fiber-reinforced concrete roofs and coverings, commissioned Guhl—and his students at the School of Applied Arts—to design plant containers. The use of asbestos as a reinforcing element creates a product that is elegant, stable and robust. Eternit formed a vital part of Guhl's teaching, focused on realizing the potential of new materials. Designs produced by the student group included the Elephant Ear Planter (1951), produced by arranging fabric-like Eternit concrete on a mold before turning it over, and the Spindle Planter (1951) in the shape of an hourglass or diabolo designed by Guhl and his then student Anton Bee. In 1954, Guhl designed the Loop Chair for Eternit, which quickly became a mid-century classic and his most recognized design. This garden chair resembling a strip of ribbon perfectly personifies his favorite adage: “achieve maximum results with minimum effort”. This piece received the Gute Form prize and is exhibited at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein in Germany and at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich. Due to the carcinogenic nature of asbestos, Eternit ceased production of the Guhl garden chair in 1980. After being on display for just two weeks at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2001, it was removed from the institution for health reasons. German and Swiss museums have sealed the surface of the chair to eliminate any risk of exposure. Guhl retired from teaching in 1981 but continued to work as a designer. During his career, Guhl won acclaim for his work as a designer and was the subject of a 1985 retrospective entitled "Willy Guhl: Designer and Teacher at the Museum für Gestaltung" in Zurich. He notably co-founded the Association of Swiss Interior Designers (Vereinigung Schweizer Innenarchitekten) in 1943 and the Association of Swiss Industrial Designers in 1966. In 1998, Guhl revised the design of its famous Loop Chair by removing asbestos. Its production, in addition to that of the Loop Side Table, was reestablished by Eternit in 2000. Guhl died in his hometown in 2004 at the age of 89.
  • Creator:
    Willy Guhl (Designer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 27.56 in (70 cm)Width: 78.75 in (200 cm)Depth: 31.89 in (81 cm)Seat Height: 18.9 in (48 cm)
  • Style:
    Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1950
  • Condition:
    Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. The iron structure has been completely restored, sanded and repainted with orange paint. Work carried out by a professional car/vehicle body repairer and painter.
  • Seller Location:
    leucate, FR
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU7285236503092

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