What is plastic chair called?

Stackable polypropylene chair

A monobloc chair

The Monobloc chair is a lightweight stackable polypropylene chair, usually white in colour, often described as the world's most common plastic chair.[1] The name comes from mono- ("one") and bloc ("block"), meaning an object forged in a single piece.

History

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Variants of the one-piece plastic chair designed by Canadian D.C. Simpson in 1946 went into production with Allibert Group and Grosfillex Group in the 1970s.[2] Other sources name the French engineer Henry Massonnet from Nurieux-Volognat with his "Fauteuil 300" from 1972 as the inventor of the monobloc.[3] They were inspired by the Chair Universal 4867 design by Joe Colombo in 1965, but no patents were filed for a monobloc chair design.[4][5] Since then, millions have been manufactured around the world.

Production and usage

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The Monobloc chair is so named because it is injection moulded from thermoplastic as one piece rather than being assembled from multiple pieces. Many variations and styles exist but all are designed to allow the chair to be made quickly and cheaply through injection molding. A common material used is thermoplastic polypropylene, with the granules being heated approximately 220 °C (428 °F), and the resulting melt injected into a mold.[6] The gate of the mould is usually located in the seat,[7] ensuring smooth flow to all parts of the tool.[citation needed][vague]

Close to a billion Monoblocs have been sold in Europe alone, with one Italian manufacturer producing over ten million a year in 2004. [8] The chairs cost approximately $3.50 to produce in 2011, making them both affordable and ubiquitous - in the billions -[9] worldwide. Numerous variants exist.[10] Their light weight and stackable design eases both their deployment and storage, even for large gatherings. [11] (One modern design weighs 2.7 kg, half that of the standard make, and can be stacked 24 high.)[12] They are also prevalent in both corporate and individual outdoor usage due to features such as the slits on seat and backrest which rain water and wind pass through, their wide base which resists their occupants tipping over, and their sheer utility and replaceability. [13]

Social reception

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The monobloc chair has been a controversial piece of furniture. Many people, including social theorist Ethan Zuckerman, have described the chair as having achieved a cultural global ubiquity]].[clarify][10] This quality has been seen as both a positive and a negative, with some considering the homogenous nature of the chair "disturbing" and "the real evil of globalization",[4][14] while others have called it one of "the world's most perfectly designed object[s]".[4]

Monobloc plastic chairs were banned from public spaces in the city of Basel, Switzerland from 2008[15] to 2017[16][17] to preserve the beauty of cityscape.

Exhibitions

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Gallery

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• Massed

• Stacked

• As former flotsam

References

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The 1970 update to the DCM chair was officially called the two-piece plastic chair but also picked up the abbreviated name DCMU which translated to Dining Height (D) Chair (C) on Metal (M) Rod Base Upholstered (U).

The 1970’s brought about a real change in styles and tastes and Herman Miller took those changes to aim their efforts at the commercial market. The DCMU was part of a group of early 70’s upholstered chairs aimed at the workplace including its sister chair, the two-piece secretarial chair (EC228).

The Eames two-piece plastic chair was literally an update on the original plywood DCM and even used the exact same rod base. The two-part plywood panels were replaced with plastic versions with new properties and then fully upholstered and edged in vinyl. The new developed plastics utilized 75% polyester which gave them a softer and glossy finish as well as 25% fiberglass to help keep them durable.

The Eames DCMU chair also lost the shock mounts from the original plywood version. The newly developed plastics panels were strong enough to have molded screw inserts embedded into them rather than have the need for additional glued mounts.

The chair was versatile, largely due to its standard Dining/Desk height, and its uses therefore were widespread, from dining chairs to commercial installations.