NOVELTY
Magis: chair_ONE Anniversary Edition by Konstantin Grcic

The story of chair_ONE began over twenty years ago – as the first collaboration between designer Konstantin Grcic and Venetian furniture manufacturer Magis. The idea was daring: a seat shell made from a single piece of die-cast aluminium – technically sophisticated and radically formal. Eugenio Perazza, founder of Magis, recognised the potential and made it possible to develop this product, which was to write design history.

The shell's lattice structure is functionally well thought out: it is compact where stability is required and open where lightness is possible. Every detail follows the logic of sitting: minimal use of material, maximum effect. After four years of development, chair_ONE was launched in 2004. What began as an experimental design became an industrial series product with cult status.

The chair is still in continuous production today, has won numerous awards and is represented in the most important design collections worldwide. Even twenty years later, its radical design language still appears fresh and visionary.

To mark the anniversary, a special edition is being shown in the Giardini Reali in Venice: 16 unique pieces with a golden surface, mounted on raw lava rock from the foot of Mount Etna. The pieces oscillate between design object and sculpture, creating an atmosphere between reality and fiction – shimmering like sunlight on another planet.

Eight of the sixteen unique pieces are on display in the exhibition. A complete photographic overview is available in the catalogue or directly from Magis.