A Slender Armchair That's Part Nordic, Part American

Consider the pressure of legacy on today's Scandinavian furniture designers. Expectations are formidable in the region that produced the iconic designs of Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobson, and so on, as well as the principles of minimal, hyper–functional but still graceful products that have informed the likes of everyone from global retail behemoth Ikea to American artist Donald Judd.

So for a trio of fledging designers to name a chair for their hometown of Oslo––a chair by a U.S. manufacturer for a U.S. market––says a lot about the piece as a beacon of sensible, elegant design with international appeal.

"This is a typical Scandinavian chair," says Øyvind Wyller, one–third of Angell, Wyller, & Aarseth. "It's slim and lightweight. The cushion in the back gives the chair layers and shades for the light to play with. It is clothed in a way. This also gives interior designers possibilities to specify several different fabrics on the same chair."

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