November 22, 2010

But Your High Chair Ain't Got No Legs, Gunnar Daan

gunnar_daan_zublim2

While we were in Amsterdam, we spent a lot of time in de Pijp, the neighborhood around the several blocks-long Albert Cuyp Markt which, once past the Heineken Museum, feels pretty normal and tourist-free.

It's where we stumbled upon Zublim, a nice design store that had a mix of kid and grownup, vintage and new stuff. Somewhere in between is this awesome high chair by architect/designer Gunnar Daan.

Daan designed the compact chair for his own kids in 1966, while the family lived on a houseboat. The concentric circular elements could all be cut from a single 50cm sq sheet of plywood, while the "standards"--not legs-- are from a separate, slightly thinner ply.

gunnar_daan_plan.jpg

According to the catalogue for the Delft Faculty of Architecture where he later taught, Daan has "an obsession with geometry" and got fed up dealing with Gerrit Rietveld's favorite department store Metz & Co., which briefly sold the chair. Which all makes me want to thank Zublim for what must be a great effort to bring these chairs back to the market.

Zublim Interieurs Amsterdam [zublim.nl]
Another photo of a natural finish Daan chair with a cushion and no leg strap [daddytypes flickr]
Gunnar Daan portfolio site [gunnardaan.nl]

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