Gaia

$2,500

The Gaia is ideal as a dining side chair, but could be placed as a “slipper” almost anywhere for a stylish accent or convenient seating. We designed it to accompany our mosaic table line in particular, but its simplicity, and almost primitive minimalism, will work with many other designs.

At first glance one would expect it to be built like so many contemporary furniture pieces with curved panel surfaces – layers of thin veneer laminated together like bent plywood. A closer look reveals subtle “compound” curves. The arched back, for example, has a gentle slope which runs counter to the chair’s main contour. The result is an exceptionally comfortable seating posture. Just the right lean angle, and a shape that cradles the body.

The secret is that the Gaia is carved from solid wood. Some of the attractive features of the bent lamination technique are achieved, but its compromises in terms of comfort and design limitations are avoided. The thickness varies at different locations along the curved surface, the grain that shows along the visible edges is solid wood, not the typical plywood look. These details make the difference for a design that is simple, but at the same time, remarkably graceful.