Artek Kiki Lounge Chair Artek

Kiki Lounge Chair by Ilmari Tapiovaara

Tapiovaara wanted to design inexpensive furniture for a broader audience. He made use of materials that were readily available in Finland in the  1940s, such as solid Birch. Later, in the 1950s, he began to develop multipurpose chairs made of steel tubing and plywood.

Ilmari Tapiovaara designed the Kiki Lounge Chair in 1960. It was originally conceived as a chair whose stackability allowed it to be used to seat large groups, such as in auditoriums. In the Kiki series, Tapiovaara employed a more clean cut design idiom instead of the more organic style he had favored previously. Instead of wood he chose oval steel tubing as the structural and unifying element of the whole Kiki collection.

Kiki was a success, establishing the current direction for furniture design at this time. Kiki’s timeless and elegant design idiom has made it one of the most popular pieces of public furniture in Finland.

Designer: Ilmari Tapiovaara, 1960
Manufacturer: Artek
Dimensions: 23.6″w | 29.5″d | 26.7″h | 15.4″h seat

Construction:

• Steel frame, lacquered black
• Seat and back cushioned with Polyurethane foam and Dacron (polyester) batting and upholstered with fabric and leather options
• Plastic Glides
• F60 Fabric options: Vitra Volo
• F80 Fabric options: kvadrat Remix, Vitra Aura
• F100 Fabric options: kvadrat Steelcut Trio, kvadrat Tonus
• F140 Fabric options: Artek H55, kvadrat Hallingdal, kvadrat Vidar 3
• F200 Fabric options: kvadrat Balder 3, Artek Zebra
• L40 Leather options: Sorensen Prestige
• L60 Leather options: Sorensen Elegance in Indian Red, Walnut, Mocca, or Black
• Bench and Sofa options also available in the Kiki collection
• Made in Finland

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