Design: 1957-67Production: since 1968 - 1971Manufacturer: Herman Miller AG/Vitra AG, BaselSize: 88.5 x 50 x 74; seat height 43 cmsMaterial: varnished high-resistance foam(Baydur)Danish designer Verner Panton is one of the group of designers who broke with the Scandinavian tradition of producing handcrafted teak wood furniture. He shares this distinction with Poul Kjaerholm and Arne Jacobsen, in whose architecture studio he worked from 1950-2. As early as 1949-50, Panton began drafting chairs with no rear legs during his studies at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen. In 1955 a chair emerged that was made of molded laminated wood and featured one unbroken S-curve; it was part of an entire furniture line. However, Panton was fascinated by the opportunities opened up by the new plastics, which, due to their lack of structure, do not limit the designer to any particular forms, and engender inexpensive products. This new formal freedom caused him to reconsider the theme “chair,” and he again returned to the S-chair and modified it.
The crucial feature was the curved lower part, which rendered the base of the S-chair superfluous and afforded the desired leg room. At the end of the fifties, together with Dansk Acrylic Teknik, he developed the prototype for the “Panton-Chair” in plastic and exhibited it at the Mobilia-Club on Eriksholm, near Helsingör, in the hope of finding a suitable manufacturer with whom he could realize his idea. He found none and the cantilever-base plastic chair initially remained a dream. Panton returned again to working with laminated wood. In 1962-3 he paid a visit to Vitra. Only after making contact with the owners Willi and Rolf Fehlbaum, who manufactured Herman Miller products under license, did years of experimentation finally yield the first fiberglass-reinforced polyester prototypes in 1967. However, the desire to make the “Panton-Chair” stackable once again delayed production, as the thickness of the material had to be reduced without forfeiting stability. The final version went into serial production in 1968 at Vitra under the label of the Herman Miller Furniture Co.
It was made of Baydur, an HR polyurethane foam produced by the Bayer Leverkusen company, and was varnished in seven colors. The “Panton-Chair” was thus the first product developed jointly by Vitra and Bayer Leverkusen to be included in the Herman Miller collection. It quickly won fame and became a Pop Art icon. In 1970 Vitra replaced the costly production technology, which required thirty minutes to produce one piece, with Thermoplast injection molding. Using a dyed granulate Luran-S made by BASF, the edge profiles had to be strengthened and reinforcing ribs placed underneath the seat. In the long run, however, the material did not adequately withstand dynamic stress; Vitra discontinued production in 1979 and the license was returned to Verner Panton. Starting in 1983, Horn GmbH & Co. KG in Rudersberg began making the chair using HR foam again, and sold it until the end of the eighties through the WK association. Since 1990 Vitra has been producing the “Panton-Chair” using HR foam.
The colorful history of the first serially produced cantilever-base chair made of one single piece of plastic includes numerous quarrels as to the true designer. Because Panton had unsuccessfully sought a manufacturer for quite some time, he had already made his ideas available to a limited audience despite the fact that mass production did not seem imminent. When the “Panton- Chair” finally went into serial production, many other designers claimed they had also pursued this idea, although without taking steps to publicize it, have it serially produced, or obtain a patent. PDMathias Remmele: Verner Panton – Das Gesamtwerk, Weil am Rhein 2000.Designer:Verner Panton VitraVitra has manufactured furniture designs by Charles & Ray Eames and George Nelson since 1957. Building on this foundation, Vitra has developed a wide range of furnishings for the office, for the home and for public spaces in collaboration with progressive designers. Yet Vitra is more than just a design-oriented manufacturing company.
The name also stands for the Vitra Design Museum, for a collection of modern furniture and its accompanying archive, for workshops and publications on topics of design, and for an architectural concept that unites buildings by Frank Gehry, Nicholas Grimshaw, Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Alvaro Siza, Herzog & de Meuron and SANAA at the Vitra Headquarters in Birsfelden (Switzerland) and on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein (Germany). Product longevity is central to Vitra's contribution to sustainable development; short-lived styling is avoided at all costs. This can be seen most clearly in the classical pieces of furniture that have been used for decades, had several owners and have then even ended up as a part of a collection. For Vitra, the manufacture of sustainable products means intense pre-production development, where the highest-grade materials are selected and tests are carried out that simulate 15 years of use. In order to enforce and monitor sustainable development in all business activities of the company, a work group was formed in 1986 by the name of 'Vitra and the Environment'.
Because of this, Vitra can proudly claim that it has been dedicated to sustainability for nearly a quarter of a century. See more from Vitra A remarkable and innovative talent, Verner Panton pioneered many firsts in 20th Century design and architecture. First to create transparent, inflatable furniture, Panton created with an unhindered imaginary vision. Bold, beautiful colors and shapes defined his vision of the future. The creator of many iconic modern designs over the course of his career (1926-1998), including the Cone Chair, C1 Chair and Panton Chair, Panton also successfully created a new set of theories about how lighting should work and how it should influence its surroundings. By fusing all the elements of a room — floor, walls, ceiling, furnishings, lighting, textiles and wall panels made of enamel or plastic — into a unified whole, Panton's interior installations have attained legendary status. View other products by Verner Panton Panton Chair Reviews - page 2
Can a 230 pound person sit on a Panton chair? The Panton chair from Vitra is weight rated for 250lbs. Its ingenious design distributes weight evenly for a comfortable seating experience and the Polypropylene molded plastic is durable for indoor or outdoor use. If you have additional questions we are always happy to help! Our product specialists are available over the phone to help you with a quote or to check the availability of a specific product that may work for your project. Are these stamped with Panton brand as the 2 that I own? The Panton Chair by Verner Panton is authentic and the seal is stamped into the plastic by the manufacturer, Vitra. If you have additional questions, we are happy to help! Brian, YLiving Customer Support 866-842-6209 are these chairs stackable, and how high? Thank you for your question. The Panton Chairs from Vitra are not stackable. Please let us know if you have any further questions or need assistance with your product choices.
Does this chair have "give" in it to allow sitter to bounce repetively? We want a rocker but love looks of the PantonThe Panton chair from Vitra is weight rated for 250lbs. The Polypropylene molded plastic is durable and has a little give to accommodate the sitter, but it is not designed for rocking. Bouncing or rocking over an extended amount of time could damage the chair. But if you are looking for a rocker specifically, we can help! Our knowledgeable sales people can help you find exactly what you are looking for. Just call us at the number below! I am working on decorating a bathroom in stark white, dove gray and rubber ducky yellow. Your Panton Chair fits the scene and is the vintage --but are you calling the yellow color in the picture on your web site Chartreuse--Is it yellow or more green?That sounds like a great space! The Vitra Panton Chair that comes in chartreuse is definitely more on the green side of the spectrum than a canary yellow for instance.