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Set of 4 Vintage Alvar Aalto Model 66 Chairs by Artek in Laminated Birch, 1960s

About the Item

Set of vintage production model 66 chair by Alvar Aalto made in the 1960s. The chairs are made of laminated birch and black linoleum and have a beautiful glow and patina. Beautifully worn but without any structural damages. Aaltos iconic Chair 66 is a universal wooden chair in the tradition of classic kitchen and café chairs; its visible, additive construction logic is full of character and pleasing to the eye. The wide backrest offers comfort and flexibility, while the Finnish birch used to make the chair is both durable and lightweight. With its handle-like seat back, Chair 66 is easy to move wherever it is needed. Available in a variety of colours and finishes. In the late 1920s, architect and designer Alvar Aalto began experimenting with bending wood. In collaboration with furniture manufacturer Otto Korhonen, the Finnish master developed a ground-breaking process that resulted in the L-leg. To create the L-leg, cuts are made in the end of a piece of wood, with the slits extending just below the level of the planned bend. Wood veneer strips are then inserted and glued. This simplifies the bending process and increases the stability of the component. Aalto called the L-leg “the little sister of the architectural column,” and its arrival announced a break with longstanding traditions of furniture production. Patented by Aalto in 1933, this technique meant that the warm, organic qualities of wood could be used to form stable hardwearing designs.

Creator:
Alvar Aalto (Designer),Artek (Manufacturer)
Design:
Chair 66L-Leg Series
Dimensions:
Height: 29.93 in (76 cm)Width: 14.57 in (37 cm)Depth: 18.9 in (48 cm)Seat Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 4
Style:
Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Birch
Place of Origin:
Finland
Period:
1960-1969
Date of Manufacture:
1960s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor fading. The chairs were originalt bought as a set and have a nice and even patina from use. Minor losses and scratches, but overall good condition.
Seller Location:
Odense, DK
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU3793136700722
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Shop All Alvar Aalto

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.