Zig Zag chair modelled and rendered in SolidWorks The Zig Zag-chair is a chair designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1934. It is a minimalistic design without legs, made by 4 flat wooden tiles that are merged in a Z-shape using Dovetail joints. It was designed for Rietveld's Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht and is now produced by the Italian manufacturer Cassina S.p.A..Design: 1932-34Production: 1935 to c.1955Manufacturer: Metz & Co., AmsterdamSize: 75 x 37 x 44.5; seat height 42.5 cmsMaterial: red-stained elm, brass screwsAs a variation on the model of a chair without back legs first developed by Mart Stam, Gerrit Rietveld’s “Zig-Zag” chair remains one of the most radical formulations in furniture design. Presumably the immediate forerunner was Heinz and Bodo Rasch’s eye-catching “Sitzgeiststuhl” (sitting spirit chair) of 1927. Its shape, which the Rasch brothers fashioned to match the posture of a person sitting, consisted of a base and a curved surface bent twice for the back and the upper and lower thighs.
Comparable to tendons in human limbs, the construction of the rounded side sections is thus stabilized. Rietveld abstracts from the quite complicated but structurally correct form to create a simple zigzag, but the logic of the construction suffers. Actually a whole series of tests were necessary to achieve a practical solution. “Zig-Zag” appears to completely contradict our ideas of a usable piece of furniture since its free-standing surfaces appear to collapse as soon as any weight is placed on them. However the chair is stabilized by dovetail joints between the seat and back, reinforcements with screws and nuts, as well as wooden wedges in the corners. Rietveld was very much aware of the discrepancy between the simple shape and the relatively complicated construction and said himself, it is not a chair but a “designer joke.” The actual goal of the design was to create a functional form which does not displace space but allows it to be perceived as a continuum; indeed, of Rietveld’s entire body of work the “Zig-Zag” represents the most economical example of such a form.
It is an uncompromising transposition of minimal requirements onto a chair, reduced to such an extent that even the screws appear to be decorative. An idea that always accompanied the history of furniture design – of mechanically producing a chair from a single continuous form – led Rietveld to his first experiments with bent, spliced plywood in 1927. In 1932 he began designing what later became the so-called “Zig-Zag” chair for the Amsterdam furniture manufacturer, Metz & Co. Plywood or chip wood on a metal frame was a failure, however. Not until 1934 did he succeed in creating a stable, very comfortable, and even stackable version. From 1935 this was produced with somewhat differing proportions, connections, and surface treatments by both Rietveld’s master cabinetmaker and Metz & Co., in great numbers up until the fifties. The model shown here stems from such a production in the thirties. The producer of today’s version of the “Zig-Zag” is the Cassina Company which purchased the rights to manufacture all of Rietveld’s furniture designs in 1971.
Rietveld used the “Zig-Zag” together with a matching table in many of his later interiors and also created an armchair version with and without a perforated back, as well as a “Zig-Zag” children’s highchair. Dutch architect and designer Gerrit Rietveld's Zig-Zag Chair is the final entry in our alphabetical advent calendar of iconic chairs. The Zig-Zag Chair is formed of four flat wooden sections joined to create an angular form that appears fragile but is reinforced by clever joinery so it can support the sitter. It was designed by Rietveld in 1934 and represents a formal expression of the principles of abstraction advocated by the De Stijl artistic movement, which focused on basic forms and primary colours. The chair evolved from the designer's attempts to produce a functioning seat from a single continuous shape, which initially saw him experiment with materials such as bent plywood and steel plate. Solid wood was eventually determined as the most suitable material, and Rietveld employed the carpentry skills learned in the workshop of his joiner father to give the chair the required stability.
Dovetail joints fix the backrest to the seat and two wedges fitted with dowels attach the angled support to the seat and base. The simplicity of the solution led Rietveld to describe the piece not as a chair but a "designer joke". From 1935 it was produced in different versions by Amsterdam furniture manufacturer Metz & Co. Rietveld went on to use the chair in many of his later interior designs and also developed an armchair version and a children's highchair based on the same principle. Italian furniture brand Cassina bought the rights to manufacture all of Rietveld's furniture designs in 1971 and offers the Zig-Zag Chair in natural cherry or ash, as well as in stained yellow, blue, red, black and white versions with an exposed natural wood edge. Earlier this year, another of Rietveld's classic designs – the Steltman chair – was reissued by Dutch furniture label Rietveld Originals to mark the 50th anniversary of its design. Dezeen is publishing an A to Z of iconic chairs to count down the days until Christmas.
Catch up with the list so far »Classic Modernist Furniture Design Profile Zig Zag Chair – 1934 Gerrit Rietveld Gerrit Rietveld’s Zig Zag Chair is made up of four elements joined with dovetail joints and fixed with brass nuts and bolts through triangular corner blocks. Even though it’s visual effect is simple its design and construction are complex. It was designed for the Schroder House in Utrech, Holland and is and example of Rietveld’s de Stijl and Modernist design principles. It occupies little space, is unadorned and the cantilever concept broke new ground in furniture design. It was initially manufactured by G. A. van de Groenekan, De Bilt, Netherlands and then Cassina Italy from 1971. About the Designer Learn about his design principles and design career. Further Resources on the Designer Web sites and books More Gerrit Rietveld Furniture Designs End Table – Gerrit Rietveld The End Table was constructed with a blue square top and a red circular base and the two were connected by a black and a white rectangle.