Alvar Aalto 400 ‘Tank’ 1936 Armchair for Artek
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 25.6 in (65 cm)Width: 30.32 in (77 cm)Depth: 30.32 in (77 cm)Seat Height: 20.08 in (51 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2022
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:8-9 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Tilburg, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5892230922872
Tank Armchair
In 1936, Finnish designer Alvar Aalto (1898–1976), a graduate of the Helsinki University of Technology who had just moved the practice he ran with his first wife, Aino, from the Finnish city of Turku to Helsinki, presented a new chair at the Milan Triennale. Compared to Aalto’s previous furniture designs, the Armchair 400, or Tank armchair, was robust, with a wide and sturdy shape that earned it its name.
Prior to this, Aalto had seen success in 1933 for his Stool 60, a simple wood design that remains one of the most celebrated seats in design history. Next to the Stool 60, the Tank armchair was, well, a tank.
But the cantilevered seat garnered widespread approval in Milan, even earning Aalto a prize from the fair. Like the Stool 60, though, the Tank armchair makes use of gracefully bent birchwood. Much of Aalto’s work involved native birch, which he referred to as a “form-inspiring, deeply human material.” This attitude speaks to the designer’s approach, which was always to integrate architecture and design both with its surroundings and the movements of its users.
With the Tank, Aalto created what he saw as the ideal chair: Its upholstered seat offers comfort, but the cantilevered form ensures it remains elegant, as do the sculptural, curving armrests, each cut from a single piece of birch. The shape also gives it flexibility, making it suitable for both leaning back and relaxing or sitting upright for conversation.
The continued popularity of the Tank armchair — and the increase in popularity in cantilevered seats in the years following its release — speaks to the importance of Aalto’s early experiments in bentwood, a material that would come to be a defining aspect of mid-century furniture design. Years later, for example, American designers Charles and Ray Eames would begin producing pieces in bent and molded plywood created with their famous homemade “Kazam! Machine.”
In 1939, upon seeing Aalto’s work for the Finnish Pavilion at the World’s Fair, Frank Lloyd Wright (who also had a certain love affair with wood, although the renowned architect’s species of choice was mahogany) reportedly called Aalto a “genius.”
The Tank armchair is produced by Artek, which the Aaltos helped cofound. It is available in a wide variety of upholstery and wood-stain options, including the eye-catching zebra pattern, an unexpected offering from a company whose palette tends to be more muted but a popular version of the chair since its early days.
Alvar Aalto
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and in his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed in 1930 as part of his overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium. Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under at the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with his wife, Aino Aalto, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Tilburg, Netherlands
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Alvar Aalto 400 ‘Tank’ 1936 Armchair in Zebra for ArtekBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Tilburg, NLAlvar Aalto 400 ‘Tank’ armchair for Artek. Designed in 1936. New, current production. Please note: price is for a 'Tank' armchair in Zebra upholstery and nat...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Fabric, Wood
- Alvar Aalto Pair of ‘Tank’ 1936 Armchair for ArtekBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Tilburg, NLAlvar Aalto Pair of 400 ‘Tank’ Armchair for Artek. Designed in 1936. New, current production. Please note: the price is for 2 chairs with Kvadat Tonus...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Alvar Aalto Pair of ‘Tank’ 1936 Armchairs in Zebra for ArtekBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Tilburg, NLAlvar Aalto pair of 400 ‘Tank’ armchair for Artek. Designed in 1936. New, current production. Please note: the price is for 2 chairs with Artek Zebra uphol...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Alvar Aalto A805 ‘Angel Wing’ Floor Lamp 1954 for ArtekBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Tilburg, NLAlvar Aalto A805 ‘Angel Wing’ Floor Lamp for Artek. Designed in 1954. New, current production. Floor Light A805 features a hand-riveted shade formed from d...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Joe Colombo 'Supercomfort' Armchair 1964 for B-LineBy Joe ColomboLocated in Tilburg, NLJoe Colombo 'Supercomfort' Armchair for B-Line. Designed in 1964. New, current production. The Supercomfort armchair designed by Joe Colombo is the result of a meticulous ergonomi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Rastad & Relling 'Bambi' 56/2 Lounge Chair in Solid Walnut 1956 for FjordfiestaBy Adolf Relling and Rolf RastadLocated in Tilburg, NLRastad & Relling 'Bambi' 56/2 Lounge Chair in Solid Walnut for Fjordfiesta. Designed in 1956. New, current production. Lounge chair in solid walnut or oak with a seat and back in embroidered leather. The Bambi Lounge chair...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Norwegian Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Alvar Aalto set of Armchairs for Artek, circa 1960By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Esbjerg, DKLounge chairs designed by Alvar Aalto manufactured, circa 1960. Curved birch plywood and braided vegetable fiber.Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- Rare Version of 402 Armchair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950sBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Helsinki, FIRare model 402 armchair by Alvar Aalto for Artek from the 1950s with wedges on the legs. Lacquered birch legs, red woolblend fabric upholstery. Good vinta...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Birch
- Alvar Aalto 402 Series pair of Armchair for Artek, circa 1960, lambskinBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Esbjerg, DKLounge chairs designed by Alvar Aalto manufactured, circa 1960. New upholstered with lambskin Curved birch plywood and braided vegetable fiber. Measures: 74 x 61 x 69 cm.Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSheepskin, Birch
- Artek Armchair 406 by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Centreville, VAArmchair 406 combines simple elegance with comfort. Since wood changes over time, the armrests are formed from a single piece that is then split in half, ensuring that as the chair ...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBentwood
- Early Model 402 Armchair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Made in Finland, 1930sBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Detroit, MIThe Model 402 lounge chair or ‘Atelje’ chair was designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto in 1933 for and is considered a masterpiece of modernist furniture design. The Classic, well-balance...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Birch, Bentwood
- Fabulous Pair Zebra Print Alvar Aalto 400 Tank Chair by Artek Mid-CenturyBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Pemberton, NJFabulous pair of Alvar Aalto zebra print Tank chairs. This pair is circa 80s and are in very nice vintage condition. The armchair 400, designed by Al...Category
Vintage 1980s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Birch
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto
A power couple before the term existed, the influential pair made work that still resonates today.
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.