Comfortable reference
Anna Moldenhauer: How did the idea to design the S 220 shaped wood chair for Thonet come about?
Sam Hecht: We know Thonet's products very well; the 214, for example, is one of my favourite chairs. We talked to the company about further developing the existing forms and jointly found a design that fits into Thonet's portfolio.
Thonet chairs are timeless classics – so further development is a special challenge. What was important for you to convey in the result?
Sam Hecht: The task indeed required a certain sensitivity to the tradition of the Thonet company – we therefore wanted a reference to the existing work, not a fashionable new development. The graphic silhouette of the S 220 is so identical to that of the 209, except that in the latter it is formed from bentwood, and we have filled in the lines with moulded plywood, so to speak.