Model 31 Armchair/ Alvar Aalto/ Finland, 1930s

Description:

A model 31 armchair designed by one of Finland’s most prestigious Modernist designers and architects, Alvar Aalto. 

The model 31 was designed by Aalto during the 1930s whilst he was working alongside his wife and partner, Aino Aalto, on the Paimio Sanitorium. Aalto won the commission for the tuberculosis hospital in 1929, and over 4 years built a gesamtkunstwerk, “total work of art”, dedicated to physical and mental wellness in every capacity possible. Aalto described the sanatorium itself as a “medical instrument”, prioritising ventilation and heliotherapy (sun exposure), with furniture functioning a core part of this finely tuned instrument. 

The low seat and gently reclining form of the model 31 is indicative of the environment of restfullness which Aino and Aalto sought to construct at Paimio. Much like the eponymous “Paimio Chair”, the most recognised design from the project, the model 31 shares the scroll-like expression created by the continuous seat and back. However, unlike the “Paimio Chair” the model 31 has a cantilevered construction created by the sweeping curves of the laminated birch frame, inspired by the original “Freischwinger” by Mart Stam from 1926.

This particular armchair was once owned by British artist and designer, Max Clendinning, and his partner Ralph Adron. The sweeping curves and organic shapes of the model 31, accentuated by the stained black finish, perfectly complimented the eclectic interior aesthetic of the artistic duo. The home of Clendinning and Adron was an ode to unexpected pairings; Victorian tiles and Modernist furniture alongside Max’s own brightly coloured, Post-Modern furniture designs.

Like Adron and Clendinning’s home, this model 31 armchair represents unexpected conversations, as both a piece of iconic Finnish design history and as a fragment of a wonderfully eclectic designer’s home. 

Specifications:

Width: 65cm

Length: 77cm

Height: 65cm

Seat Height: 41cm

Materials: Laminated, stained birch