107 Chair by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Product news: Austrian designer Robert Stadler’s update on the classic bentwood bistro chair by Thonet, synonymous with cafe culture since it appeared in the nineteenth century, has gone into production.

107 Chair by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Last November we reported on the initial launch of Robert Stadler’s 107 chair, which was created specially for the Corso restaurant interiors that Stadler designed in Paris. Now available as part of German furniture maker Thonet’s own collection, the 107 Chair incorporates a separate flat backrest to simplify the production process.

107 Chair by Robert Stadler for Thonet

By replacing the curves of Thonet’s famous 214 Chair with straight lines, Stadler enabled it to be manufactured in a cost-efficient way. The frame is made of solid wood, while the seat and backrest are made of plywood with a natural or stained finish.

107 Chair by Robert Stadler for Thonet

We recently featured a concept bicycle made for Thonet with a frame of steam-bent wood, inspired by the classic 214 chair.

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107 Chair by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Above: image is by Robert Stadler Studio

Photographs are by Constantin Meyer except where stated.

Here’s some more information from the designer:


The 107 Chair by Robert Stadler: Inspired by Coffee House Culture Yet Uncompromisingly Modern

Variations on an archetypal design: with its slim, curved backrest and its lightweight and elegant look, the 107 chair is reminiscent of Thonet’s famous 214 coffee house chair. An effect intended by Austrian-born and Paris-based designer Robert Stadler, who sees his 107 chair as a contemporary re-interpretation of the most famous of classic chair designs. The new 107 chair connects to Thonet’s longstanding tradition by being an ideal piece of furniture for the café and restaurant trade, which is equally well suited for use in private living and dining interiors.

Initially, the 107 design was commissioned for the Corso restaurants in Paris where the chair has been used since autumn 2011. From October 2012, the 107 chair will also be available as part of the Thonet collection. The 214 coffee house chair (historically No 14) saw worldwide success in the 19th century, not least due to its sensible pricing. Today, this classic piece is rather expensive to produce since the bentwood material requires a high percentage of manual work during production.

With the 107, Robert Stadler wanted to design a chair for the cafés of the world’s cities that would explicitly reference its predecessor yet would be significantly cheaper to produce thanks to modern production technologies. “You only have to think of Buckminster Fuller who was able to achieve maximum stability with minimal use of materials when designing his geodesic domes. I took this idea as an inspiration and I also simplified the design by replacing curves with straight lines without compromising the chair’s comfort. I wanted to design a variation on the famous 214 that would take the original idea as a guideline: creating a Thonet chair that can be produced in a cost-efficient way,” says Robert Stadler.

A characteristic feature of the new chair is the fragment design of the backrest, which is both a constructional element and a design feature. The frame of the 107 chair, which is only available without armrests, is made of solid wood. The seat and backrest are made of plywood with a natural or stained finish. The seat is also available with textile or leather upholstery.

The post 107 Chair by Robert Stadler
for Thonet
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Thonet Concept Bike by Andy Martin Studio

London designer Andy Martin has built a wooden road bicycle for Thonet using the steam-bending processes the German furniture company first employed in 1859 for its classic cafe chair.

Thonet Concept Bike by Andy Martin Studio

Though much of the beech frame of the Thonet Concept Bike was bent by hand, the final jointing and contours were CNC-cut. A series of connectors and sprung rods reinforces joints and stress areas in the frame.

Thonet Concept Bike by Andy Martin Studio

“The challenge was to take on the fairly low-tech process of steam bending and then apply it to a 21st century bicycle with highly complex engineering,” says Martin.

Thonet Concept Bike by Andy Martin Studio

The fixed-wheel bike has a solid beech seat, carbon-fibre wheels and no brakes, and is available for £43,000.

Thonet Concept Bike by Andy Martin Studio

The classic Thonet chair (pictured below) was first produced in the 19th century by German furniture maker Michael Thonet and can still be seen in cafes more than 150 years later.

Thonet Concept Bike by Andy Martin Studio

We previously featured a colourful update of Thonet’s classic chair by Robert Stadler.

Recently on Dezeen we’ve featured a folding bicycle with full-size wheels and a bicycle that grows with your child.

See all our stories about bicycles »

Here’s some more information from the designer:


At the end of 2010, London-based designer Andy Martin was asked by Thonet to design and develop a concept road bicycle using their steam bending process developed in the 1930s. Andy Martin Studio developed three designs, the last of which was selected because of its beauty and modest connection with the heritage of the company.

“The challenge was to take on fairly low-tech process of steam bending and then apply it to a 21st century bicycle with highly complex engineering,” says Martin. With the many restrictions of hand bending the beech frame, the final jointing and contours would be cut and adjusted on a CNC machine.

Andy Martin has also developed a series of connectors and sprung rods to reinforce joints and the major stress areas in the frame.

The bike itself is a fixed wheel, which is the tradition of cycling one has a greater connection to the bike and the surface one rides on. The bike comes with no brakes and has several interchangeable gear ratios. The seat is solid beech wood supported on a sprung rod supports. The wheels, not designed by Martin, are carbon fibre HED H3s.

The bike will be available in limited edition and cost £43,000.

The post Thonet Concept Bike
by Andy Martin Studio
appeared first on Dezeen.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Austrian designer Robert Stadler has created a new bistro chair for Thonet, a brand famed for their bentwood chairs synonymous with cafe culture that have hardly changed in a hundred years.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Stadler’s Chair 107 borrows the language of the original but incorporates a flat backrest and can be produced in a process that’s almost entirely automated.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Stadler designed the chair for the interior of a restaurant for the Corso brand in Paris – see his restaurant interior on Avenue Trudaine here and the one on Place Franz Liszt here.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

The original Thonet cafe chairs were designed in 1859, produced in their millions and distributed worldwide.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Yesterday we published a movie in which American furniture designer Matthias Pliessnig wraps a Thonet chair with strips of steam-bent white oak to create a sculpture – watch it on Dezeen Screen.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Photographs are by Constantin Meyer and Charles Negre.

The details below are from Stadler:


To design a new bistrot chair for Thonet is a touchy task. Initially I was proposed to customize a typical Thonet chair for the Corso restaurants, for which I am in charge of the design.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

But I preferred to elaborate a new chair instead of producing one more Designer comment on this essential piece of furniture. My starting point was the fact that today chair 214 (historically baptized Nr. 14) is rather expensive, which represents a certain break in regards to Thonet’s history.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Indeed the company is renowned for being the first to achieve a world-wide distribution of their furniture thanks to it’s ingenious conception based on dismantling.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

Yet, after more than 40 million sold chairs the manufacturing of the back part is still rather traditional.

Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet

With chair 107 I focussed on a new design of that element which is now being produced in an almost totally automatic process.