CH88 Chair

Overview

The CH88 is a stackable dining chair by Hans J. Wegner that joins wood and steel. He first developed it as a prototype with coloured legs for the Helsingborg Exhibition of 1955, and Carl Hansen & Søn put it into production in 2014. It comes as the CH88T with a veneer seat and the CH88P with a leather or fabric seat.

Construction

• Frame: stainless steel or black powder-coated steel
• Seat: oval wooden seat (CH88T, form-pressed veneer) or upholstered seat (CH88P)
• Backrest: steam-bent wood with upturned ends that form a resting place for the forearms
• Wood: FSC™ Mix-certified beech or oak

Image source: Carl Hansen & Søn — CH88 Chair · © Carl Hansen & Søn and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy

Specifications

• W 57 × D 44.5 × H 76.5 cm (70.5 cm on the front drawing is not labelled)
• CH88T: 4 variants listed; CH88P: 15 variants listed
• CH88T Ecolabel sheet (EU Ecolabel, Nordic Swan Ecolabel)

A prototype with coloured legs

Carl Hansen & Søn says Wegner developed the chair first as a prototype with coloured legs, and that it was shown at the international Helsingborg Exhibition in Sweden in 1955. The company introduces it as an example of Wegner exploring materials beyond wood.

Produced from 2014

Decades after the prototype the company put the chair into production, in celebration of the 2014 centennial of Wegner's birth. The CH88P page also says that 2014 was the first time the chair went into production.