Designer: Arne Jacobsen
Before the Swan Chair (1958), Arne Jacobsen's architecture and designs were shaped by an assumption of materials' natural ways of resisting. In other words, he could make them go only so far in becoming the structure he desired. With new technologies, however, the old rules no longer applied and he was able to shape fluid curves and single-piece molded shells. The Swan Chair is now made from polyurethane foam, but at the time, Jacobsen used Styropore® to create its continuous shape. Designed for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, for which Jacobsen was the architect, the chair's swivel base permitted guests to spin in their seat, thus becoming active participants in the busy hotel atmosphere.