I
f such fuss is made of Pantone’s one annual
colour prediction (Living Coral for 2019, in
case you hadn’t heard), imagine the
deliberating when two colour-loving designers
have to choose from infinite combinations of
shades for their latest chair.
The duo behind Muller Van Severen had become
accustomed to (after first being frustrated with)
limited colour options for a series of products —
including their ‘First chair’ (2012) — in polyethylene
and lacquered steel. After all, this is the material
used for those cutting boards in professional
kitchens: green for vegetables, red for meat, blue
for fish, yellow for chicken and so on. The then-
budding Belgian studio was quickly associated with
quirky, clever colour, because once you combine
these basic hues, they take on a new personality.
Swap out polyethylene for powder-coatedaluminium a few years later and suddenly there are
no limits. What’s more, the Alu chair, just like the
First chair, encourages a contrasting seat and back,
which confuses things even further.
The pair finally settled on 16 colour combinations.
“Choosing the colours was hard for this chair,” says
Fien Muller. “You can actually create a landscape of
colours,” Hannes Van Severen adds. “[They] really
determine the atmosphere of the space: you can
create a very playful or a rather serious environment.”
Originally designed as an outdoor chair for
Anne Holtrop’s Bahrain Pavilion for the World
Expo 2015 in Milan, the Alu chair is not only
lightweight but surprisingly hard-wearing due to its
treatment of beeswax and a UV protective lacquer.
Distributed by Valerie Objects, the chair
is now available in Australia at Spence &
Lyda. JOANNE GAMBALESHOP
Techno colours
Produced & styled by Joseph Gardner Photographed by Saskia Wilson
NEW TECHNOLOGY opened up a whole palette of possibilities
for Muller Van Severen’s functional, FUTURISTIC Alu chairs.Mar/Apr 2019 47VLoves