Dapper

Hay

2016

Chair

Description

The Aga Khan Foundation commissioned Doshi Levien to design a compact lounge chair for Victoria Hall, a student accommodation project in King’s Cross, London. The brief called for a small, comfortable chair suitable for study bedrooms and shared areas. In response, Doshi Levien created a structural composition in which the chair’s components appear momentarily brought together – a deconstructed illusion held in balance.

Danish brand Hay developed the chair for the project and subsequently added the design to its own collection.

Credits
Art Direction: Nipa Doshi
 Barbican photos:Jonas Lindström
 Product photos: Hay
Dapper
DAPPER FINDS A HOME IN THE BARBICAN
(Fig 1)

DAPPER FINDS A HOME IN THE BARBICAN

Dapper is in great company with plywood designs by Charles and Ray Eames to its left and right, including a cabinet gifted to Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien by Herman Miller in exchange for a talk that the studio gave in Michigan. On the right side hangs the Eames Molded Leg Splint, an early experiment with plywood.
A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE THINGS
(Fig 2)

A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE THINGS

An Ettore Sottsass teapot, part of his Indian Memories collection, the Rabari rug for Nanimarquina, and the Dapper chair in leather.
DESIGN TO BE USED IN MULTIPLES
(Fig 3)

DESIGN TO BE USED IN MULTIPLES

Aware of how furniture creates atmosphere, Doshi Levien imagined the Dapper chair to be used throughout a space.
STRUCTURAL SIMPLICITY
(Fig 4)

STRUCTURAL SIMPLICITY

Doshi Levien created a structural composition in which the chair’s components appear momentarily brought together – a deconstructed illusion held in balance.