Designed for HAY by Danish designer and long-time collaborator Jonas Trampedach, Type Chair’s name and aesthetics are derived from the perception of an archetypal chair. Type’s distinctively shaped back gives it a uniform sculptural expression that reinforces the chair’s sense of familiarity while retaining its own unique character.
We visited Jonas Trampedach in his studio in the heart of Copenhagen to learn more about the design.
In HAY’s first-ever chair made of aluminium – a material known for its inherently sustainable properties – the designer merges craft with industrial processes to create a versatile seating solution that is lightweight, stackable and functional, and blends easily into most indoor and outdoor spaces.
”Aluminium doesn’t rust, which makes this product obviously fantastic for outdoor spaces as it equips this design to be very weatherable,” says Rolf Hay, Co-Founder of HAY. Lightness is also essential in outdoor furniture, which tends to get moved around a lot according to the weather and sunlight. He adds: ”Type Chair is what I would call a pure design, its shape being simple and consequent. It also has the quality of blending in easily, which is a great feature for an outdoor furnishing to have: it will work as well in front of a historical building as it will in the context of a modern building. I think it’s important that outdoor furniture is designed with respect for landscape and architecture in mind.”
What was the inspiration behind this piece?
Jonas Trampedach: I often talk to my partner about how the furniture I make must be things I would want myself. My designs should result in something I can see in my own home. This mindset has become more and more of a requirement, one that I have adopted to assess the quality of my work. Type Chair has been years in the making, and I think you can see that in its final refined form.
What is unique about this item?
Jonas Trampedach: The way it combines craft with industrial design methods to give Type Chair its unique uniform appearance and lightweight and weatherable properties.
How does this design fit into the HAY’s design universe?
Jonas Trampedach: One of the things that I think HAY has been most successful at is finding these archetypes – whether it’s the Mags Sofa, About A Chair, Revolver Stool, Palissade Collection, and so on – they are all new pieces of furniture in a realm of the already known, but they add something new to the market, a fresh take; it’s here I think that Type Chair fits well.
Designer Jonas Trampedach was born in Denmark in 1974. He studied Design at Denmark’s Design school in 2004, followed by a Master’s degree in Design Products at the Royal College of Art in London in 2009. After moving back to Copenhagen in 2010, Jonas established his own studio, where he produces furniture and products in his own designs as well as working on collaborations with other design companies. For HAY, Jonas has developed the Cornet Bar Stool, and the Type Chair.
