Chair Database
Pallo/Ball Chair, Globe Chair
Designed by:
Aarnio E
Co-Designed by:
–
Designer:
Eero Aarnio
Co-Designer:
–
Date of Design:
1963
Date of Manufacture:
Decade:
1960s
Region:
Scandinavia
Significance:
Enveloping shell
Manufacturer:
Asko
Material:
Polyester
Process:
Pressure moulded
Monobloc:
No
Cantilever:
No
Renewable Carbon:
No
Weight:
Note:
Country of origin: Finland. Image: Eero Aarnio Originals. The Ball chair was presented at the international furniture fair in Cologne in 1966, causing a sensation and encouraging Aarnio to go on to develop a range of fibreglass furniture.
The first article ever written on the Ball chair (in a local newspaper) claimed it was ‘the most exciting chair in the world’ and it has consistently been greeted with the same enthusiasm from both the media and the entertainment world ever since.
A Ball Chair is a ‘room within a room’ with a cosy and calm atmosphere, offering protection from outside noises and creating a private space for relaxing or having a phone call (the original version had a phone installed). The chair can rotate on its base – allowing the sitter to vary their view and retain contact with the outside world.
Like Eero Saarinen’s Tulip Chair, Aarnio’s design is perched on a single, swiveling central leg cast in aluminum. Echoing Saarinen’s intentions, the Pallo frees the floor of an excessive number of legs and creates the illusion that the seat hovers above the ground.