The story of Chair 01 begins with respect for a typology. Often seen in auditoriums or churches in Denmark beginning as far back as the 1800s, the “slate chair” was designed with practicality—to accommodate a crowded public space—in mind. This chair was always simple and stackable out of necessity, and out of a desire for straightforward hospitality. In basing form around these functions, these variations on seating became an inspiration for the FRAMA philosophy as a whole, and the Chair 01 most of all as one of the earliest FRAMA designs.
Chair 01
Warm Brown Birch
Low Stool 01
Dark Brown Birch
Easy Chair 01
Warm Brown Birch
Bench 01
Natural Birch
Chair 01
Dark Brown Birch
Stool 01
Warm Brown Birch | H65
Easy Chair 01 Cushion
Camel
Low Stool 01
Warm Brown Birch
Bar Chair 01
Dark Brown Birch | H65
Bench 01
Warm Brown Birch
Easy Chair 01
Dark Brown Birch
Chair 01 Cushion
Camel
Chair 01
Natural Birch
Bench 01
Dark Brown Birch
Bar Chair 01
Warm Brown Birch | H65
Bar Chair 01 Cushion
Camel
Stool 01
Natural Birch | H65
Bench 01
Ash Black Birch
Bar Chair 01
Warm Brown Birch | H76
Low Stool 01
Natural Birch
Much like other typologies in danish furnishings for everyday use, elemental designs are constantly being evolved and pared down by their users: in this case, FRAMA’s design being one of these evolutions of historic hospitality. Inspired by this simple approach, and driven by new developments in production technique to create furniture that was functional and thoughtful, and with no ornamentation without purpose.
In the case of Chair 01, the FRAMA design studio set out to craft something that felt familiar as well as modern. Oak can often feel traditional and conservative in this shape of seating, for example, while the warm brown birch of the Chair 01 feels lighter—whether as a chair, a stool, bar stool, or a bench. The chair was designed initially for Yaffa restaurant in Copenhagen: so from its outset, the chair design was not only inspired by practical seating historically, but born out of a need for it in the present.
Chair 01 and its family have become synonymous with FRAMA's design ideals, and with fundamental seating. A typology that has become recognizable in its forward-thinking simplicity. Following the design of the 01 Chair, the Easy Chair 01, Low Stool 01, Bench 01, and Stool 01 have expanded and reinterpreted this design vocabulary into a series that now answers to the needs of various spatial contexts. The subtle curves of the chair’s essential form create an intersection of soft angles and straight lines; an interplay in an interior object that brings to mind the simple complexity of architecture on a larger scale.
FRAMA’s 01 Series pays tribute to multi-functionality, natural materials, and the design’s honest simplicity. With its distinct aesthetic and sturdy frame, each piece responds to and complements its environment: a design that somehow occupies both a front and back seat in the space it occupies. Since its initial site-specific design in 2018, Chair 01 has been used as an accent chair that highlights its visual balance; as a stackable solution to high volume environments; as a dining chair chosen to last; high up at bar height; and with custom-fit cushions in seating areas that give space to the utmost in leisure.
The straightforward form of Chair 01 allows architectural elements that surround it to stand out, while its marble-like wood in Warm Brown Birch finish softens a room. The chair is an essential example of the fact that when the craft and material that a furnishing comes from is visible in its final form, new meaning is imbued. As a design that introduces meaning to any interior and has become part of the public design lexicon, Chair 01 has proved both enduring and familiar by wearing its materiality and craft on its sleeve. Stackable and symbolic, the chair offers fundamental design in functional form.
