During the early mid-century, Danish designers would perfect a methodology of studying earlier historically successful chair archetypes and use these as a basis from which to design their own widely successful and iconic Danish designs with the modernist aesthetic.
My own modern archetype of choice is the humble, plastic, cheap, and most produced chair in the world: the Monobloc chair. Re-imagined for high-end interior dining in stark contrast to the disposable outdoor nature of its original counterpart, I aimed to challenge throw-away furniture narratives. As the name suggests, the Polybloc chair references the iconic single-piece plastic Monobloc form with the exception of 'poly', meaning more than one. In this case, it is the formation of various handcrafted and joined pieces of British grown ash timber.
Visual references extend to the sweeping steam bent armrest that remains unsupported by the back legs, to the bright ash finish that pays homage to the Monobloc white plastic, finished with white oil.