12/06/2014

The return of the Drop – An Icon by Arne Jacobsen

It’s intriguing to think that a lot of sculptors have become furniture designers. I’m not sure whether it’s intentional that such forms cross over in to the world of furniture, but I’d guess that any experimentation of shape and size at a smaller scale might lead to groundbreaking design in a field requiring construction. One obvious stand out is Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi, who’s known for producing a few pieces of furniture throughout his career, and it’s obvious to see that all of them derive from his work as a sculptor. Sculpture, like furniture, revolves around the experimentation of simple form.

One chair that’s like a piece of sculpture is the Drop chair designed by Arne Jacobsen. It was a pleasant surprise to see that after more than 50 years in hibernation the Drop has finally been re-launched by Fritz Hansen. The chair itself was designed by Arne in 1958 as part of the SAS Royal Hotel (now known as Radisson Blu Royal Hotel) in Copenhagen. At the time they gave him complete freedom to design all the interior decoration, from the furniture, the lamps, cutlery, and many minor details. A fantastic project which saw Arne design three chairs which have now become true icons, the Swan, the Egg, and the Drop, which we’re showcasing here today.

Alongside some nice imagery, Fritz Hansen have also produced a short film exploring the production of the chair. A challenge they had when reproducing this classic design was the lack of technical drawings left behind by Arne himself, so they went to great lengths to analyse the original chair made for the SAS Royal Hotel so they could be faithful to Arne’s original intentions. Hopefully you’re inspired by what you see here and appreciate the personality of this quaint little chair, I certainly do!

fritzhansen.com