Charlotte Perriand, 522 Tokyo chaise longue
In 1940, Charlotte Perriand was exiled to Japan, where she worked as a consultant for the local industry. In the archipelago, she reinterpreted in bamboo a chaise longue she had designed in 1928. Seventy-one years later, Cassina reissued this sublime model under the name 522 Tokyo.
Twelve long, voluptuously curved teak, beech or bamboo sticks, connected by crosspieces and assembled with satin brass nails. The Tokyo chaise longue is clearly part of meticulous, artisanal work. Let's listen to what its creator Charlotte Perriand had to say about it: "It was the sight of bamboo sugar tongs in Japan that gave me the idea of transposing the famous LC4 chaise longue (developed with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret) from 1928 using the flexibility of machined bamboo instead of steel, thus pushing the technique to its maximum possibilities. The result was magnificent; a new plasticity was born through the change of materials, for the same use: the relaxation of the human body. There is no formula, creation stems from the materials and their implementation which condition new forms and preserve the appeal of their beauty in time and space."
In Japan, Charlotte Perriand only used local materials. Inspired by Asian purity, her furniture, essential, did not have any frills. She valued everyday objects made in the Mingei spirit (the Japanese neo-craftsmanship that developed in the 1920s under the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement) rather than Western standards. Where she was a designer well before the term became popular after the war, it was by developing a chaise longue that was easy to produce. Separating the base from the seat, for example, reduced production costs. Ultimately, the use of bamboo placed it in the visual universe of the Japanese home. However, for some elites, bamboo was not as noble as steel or leather. This was what they expected from Western modernity when they approached Charlotte Perriand. Rather than confining herself to it, she surpassed it by embodying an attitude, that of freedom.
The "522 Tokyo" lounge chair presented here is a Cassina reissue in teak.
Designer: Charlotte Perriand
Publisher: Cassina
Dimensions: 150 x 65 x 65cm
In 1940, Charlotte Perriand was exiled to Japan where she worked as a consultant for local industry. In the archipelago, she reinterprets in bamboo a deckchair she had designed in 1928. Seventy-one years later, Cassina reissued this sublime model under the name 522 Tokyo.
Twelve long, voluptuously curved teak, beech or bamboo sticks, linked by crosspieces and assembled with satin brass nails. The Tokyo chaise longue is clearly a piece of meticulous, hand-crafted work. Let's rather listen to what its designer Charlotte Perriand said about it: "It was the sight of a bamboo sugar tongs in Japan that gave me the idea to transpose the famous LC4 deckchair (developed with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret) from 1928 using the flexibility of machined bamboo instead of steel, thus pushing the technique to its maximum possibilities. The result was magnificent; a new plasticity was born by the change of materials, for the same use: the relaxation of the human body. formula, the creation derives from the materials and their implementation that condition new forms and preserve the appeal of their beauty in time and space.
In Japan, Charlotte Perriand uses only local materials. Inspired by Asian artwork, her furniture is essential and does not need embellishments. She values everyday objects made in the Mingei spirit (the Japanese neo-artisan which developed in the 1920s under the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement) rather than Western standards. Where she was a designer long before the term became popular in the post-war period was in developing an easy-to-produce chaise longue. Separating the frame from the seat reduces production costs, for example. In the end, the use of bamboo makes it part of the visual universe of the Japanese house. Among certain elites, however, bamboo is not as noble as steel or leather. This is what they expected from Western modernity when they approached Charlotte Perriand. Rather than shutting herself up in it, she went beyond it by embodying an attitude, that of freedom.
The chaise longue "522 Tokyo" presented here is a Cassina re-edition in teak.
Designer: Charlotte Perriand
Publisher: Cassina
Dimensions: 150 x 65 x 65cm