The Egg Chair, an absolute icon of vintage design

04/03/2023

All lovers of Scandinavian design know Arne Jacobsen's Egg chair ("Egg chair" in English), also known as the "Egg" chair translation. However, what is less known is that this cult piece of vintage design was designed by the Danish architect to furnish the reception areas of the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. Arne Jacobsen's goal was to counterbalance the modern architecture of the rigorous lines of the glass façade of the Danish capital's first skyscraper with warm and comfortable design furniture. This article looks back at the history of the Egg chair and its features that made it a global icon of vintage design.

The SAS Royal Hotel designed by Arne Jacobsen at the time of its completion in 1960. Photo Aage Strüwing © Jørgen Strüwing.

Arne Jacobsen in front of the SAS Royal Hotel in 1960. The Danish architect was commissioned by the SAS airline to erect the capital's first skyscraper. © Radisson Collection

Current view of the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, architect: Arne Jacobsen. Architecture in the aesthetic canons of the post-war international style.

Let's start with a little history. In 1956, Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) was already a renowned designer following the worldwide success of the Ant chair ("chair Ant"), one of the best-selling Danish furniture in the world since 1955.1 year later, SAS, the Danish national airline (Scandinavian Airlines System) mandates the architect to design the 1st skyscraper of the capital, a building and a design that it wants to modern. The building site lasts 4 years for an inauguration in 1960.

Ant chairs, design Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, 1952. Lightweight, stable, stackable and even comfortable, the Ant chair quickly became an icon of Danish design. In 1955, Jacobsen developed the Series 7 line, which became a worldwide bestseller.

The entire project includes a travel agency, a terminal (a shuttle bus connects the hotel to the airport) and a hotel. Commissioned, Arne Jacobsen demands complete control of the project: from the architectural design to the smallest details of the interior furnishings. The architect created a building that would become a landmark in the history of Danish urban planning. The façade of the hotel, in particular, is the first curtain wall built in the country - a glass envelope and a reinforced concrete skeleton. For the interior, the architect will design innovative seating, including the famous Egg chair, but also the Swan armchairs, which evoke a graceful bird, the Drop chair, the lounge chair and the sofa of the 3300 range, as well as AJ lighting fixtures.

Egg chair, design Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, 1958. The model is released as Egg No." 3315", then becomes "3317" and finally remains "3316" since 1973.

Swan chair, Arne Jacobsen design for Fritz Hansen, 1958. An exceptional look. As with the Egg chair, the curved, organic lines of the seat contrast with the straight angles and minimalist architecture of the hotel, which is precisely what Arne Jacobsen sought to do.

Drop chairs, design Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, 1959. The seat is made of a shell that allows freedom of movement, for optimum comfort.

Terminal waiting lounge furnished with the 3300 series chairs, Arne Jacobsen design for Fritz Hansen, 1956. Starting in 1959, airline passengers could check in and wait for their flight in elegant, modern surroundings until the SAS shuttle arrived to drop them off directly at their plane. Photo Credit: Arne Jacobsen.

AJ table lamp, Arne Jacobsen design for Louis Poulsen, 1957. Imagined for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen in 1957, this lamp combines oblique and straight angles, a reminder of the 3300 line of chairs.

What makes the Egg chair a vintage design icon? The context first, which we just posed and which maintains the legend around this mythical seat. We must realize that at the time, the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen was the symbol of post-war modernism. For some, it is considered the 1st design-hotel in the world, even a total work of art, in that everything from the carpet to the volume of the building was conceived and designed by one man.

In the foreground, another seat designed by Arne Jacobsen to furnish the lounges of the SAS Royal Hotel: the Pot seat.

For that matter, to keep the legend alive, there is still a suite in the hotel, 606, which has remained in the same condition as when it was created in 1960, and retains the original furniture designed by Arne Jacobsen, including several seats. Secondly, because the end of the 1950s was the golden age of Danish design. It is the triumph of a minimal, elegant, functional and comfortable design that Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner, Borge Mogensen, Finn Juhl, followed a few years later by Verner Panton, wear with talent.

The famous suite 606 of the SAS Royal Hotel, left as is for 6 decades. In the foreground, Egg Armchair and Swan Armchair. In the background, chairs and sofa from the 3300 range, Drop chairs.

Finally, because it is representative of an intrinsically Danish concept, the "Hygge" which could be translated as "cozy", "cosy". People of northern Europe, the Danes need to spend the long winter evenings in a comfortable atmosphere. The Egg chair evokes just such a cocoon in which to curl up.

The Egg chair is also an icon thanks to its delightful curves that invite the user to relax. The design remains uncluttered, except that it incorporates an organic dimension that makes it a special object with an immediately recognizable look. Arne Jacobsen wanted to create a friendly and relaxing environment for the lounges of the SAS Royal Hotel that would contrast with the minimalist, straightforward architecture of the building. For the time, the design was also daring, since the designer succeeded in merging the backrest, seat and armrests into a single piece, a foam-covered injected polystyrene shell on which fabric or leather was stretched. The result is brilliant, a true ergonomic cocoon with a bewitching line...

The Egg chairs in the lobby of the SAS Royal Hotel, 1960. Photo by Aage Strüwing © Jørgen Strüwing.

The SAS Royal Hotel's room around the time of the opening in 1960. In the foreground, the very inviting Egg chair. Behind, facing the desk, a Drop chair. Photo: Arne Jacobsen.

The worldwide success of the Egg chair is also due to the fruitful collaboration between the Danish publisher Fritz Hansen and Arne Jacobsen. It is one of the most important and famous partnerships in Danish design history. At the time of designing the Egg chair, this partnership was at its zenith. In the mid-1950s, Fritz Hansen licensed a production technology that allowed them to freely shape hard foam furniture. It was this method that Arne Jacobsen used to create the organic furniture for the SAS Royal Hotel.

At the Egg chair manufacturing facility, Fritz Hansen. The handcrafted production of the famous chair remains unchanged since its creation in 1958.

The Egg chair with its Ottoman seat fits perfectly into a contemporary world.

Honored by critics and professionals from when it first appeared at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1958, the Egg chair appealed to the general public in part because of its rounded egg shape, which allows it to form a space of intimacy for the person sitting on it. This "protective bubble" has inspired other major achievements in the history of design. We obviously think of the Ball chair of the Finnish designer Eero Aarnio designed in 1963... A symbol of modernity and sophistication when it was released in 1958, the Egg chair continues to fascinate lovers of elegant, sensitive and comfortable design.