Series 7

Furniture

1955

Series 7

The simple, but distinctive silhuette of the Series 7, as well as its many practical features, has made it one of Arne Jacobsen's most popular designs.

YEAR:

1955

DESIGN:

Arne Jacobsen

A stack of Series 7 chairs in Tal R's colour palette from 2015. Photo: Stjernegaard Fotografi.

Few designs can match Arne Jacobsen’s Series 7 chair in popularity and prestige. Since the launch in 1955, its popularity has only increased, and today, it is found in meeting rooms, restaurants and private homes all over the world. Series 7 was developed as a successor to the Ant from 1952, with armrests and four legs. The result was one of the most iconic, practical and versatile designs ever.

The chair was presented at the design exhibition H55 in Helsinki 1955. After the launch, Arne Jacobsen used it in many architectural projects. It premiered as part of the interior at the modernist Rødovre Town Hall, which was completed in 1956. Here, the organic lines of the Series 7 struck a balancing contrast to the building’s minimalist and rectilinear aesthetic.

Drawing of the Series 7 shell. Photo: Royal Danish Library - Danish National Art Library.

Series 7
Manufactured by

Fritz Hansen

The Series 7 chair with armrests. Photo: Stjernegaard Fotografi.

By virtue of its simplicity, the design has proven one of Arne Jacobsen’s most versatile, and since the launch in 1955, the chair has found a place in public and private settings the world over.

A key ambition for Arne Jacobsen in the development of Series 7 was to address some of the points of criticism that had been levelled at the Ant in 1952 by designing a bigger chair with four legs and optional armrests. Its name stems from the series number, 3107, and its characteristic silhouette.

Series 7 includes several different models, additional accessories and fittings that were developed over the years. In 1955, the chair was launched with and without armrests and as a model mounted on a newly developed swivel base. Later, a writing tablet, fittings to connect chairs lined up in rows, an ashtray and other optional elements were added. By virtue of its simplicity, the design has proven one of Arne Jacobsen’s most versatile, and since the launch in 1955, the chair has found a place in public and private settings the world over.

Rødovre Town Hall. Photo: Aage Strüwing © Jørgen Strüwing.

The Council Hall at Rødovre Town Hall, where the councillors sat on Series 7 chairs at custom-designed tables. Photo: Arne Jacobsen. Original is found at the Royal Danish Library – Danish National Art Library.

Unlike many of Arne Jacobsen’s designs, Series 7 was not created for a specific architectural project, but over the years it would be used in many of his buildings in Denmark and abroad. The first project it was used for was Rødovre Town Hall, which was opened in 1956. At the Town Hall, itself an example of Arne Jacobsen’s interpretation of the post-war International Style, the minimalist architecture and the functional interior design contribute to an atmosphere of modernity, efficiency, and openness. Here, members of the Town Council were seated in the elegant Council Hall on padded Series 7 chairs with black leather upholstery.

The distinctive silhouette of Series 7 made the chair ideally suited to be used in rows. The serial repetition evokes a sense of abstract pattern that Arne Jacobsen liked to employ in large, high-ceilinged auditoriums. This effect was first used in 1964 at St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, where he used Series 7 chairs on a column base and equipped with writing tablets in the College’s large auditorium. A few years later, he created the same effect in the auditorium at the new Vattenfall head office in Hamburg, designed in 1969. Series 7, which has remained in production by Fritz Hansen ever since its launch in 1955, is now used in auditoriums at cultural institutions, in corporate headquarters and in hotels all over the world.

The auditorium at St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, where Arne Jacobsen used the Series 7 chair in formation. Photo: Jonas Bjerre Poulsen / Norm Architects.

St. Catherine’s College, Oxford. Photo: Jonas Bjerre Poulsen / Norm Architects.

The distinctive silhouette of Series 7 made the chair ideally suited to be used in rows. The serial repetition evokes a sense of abstract pattern that Arne Jacobsen liked to employ in large, high-ceilinged auditoriums.

For the 50th anniversary of Series 7 in 2005, Louis Vuitton reinterpreted the chair as a swing. Photo: Fritz Hansen.

The iconic silhouette has often served as inspiration to other artists, designers, and architects. In addition to new colours by designer Verner Panton (1972), visual artists Poul Gernes (1988) and Tal R (2015) and, most recently, gallery owner Carla Sozzani (2020), the chair has repeatedly been the subject of experimental reinterpretations. For the chair’s 50th anniversary in 2005, 13 global brands offered their take on the chair, including the French fashion house Louis Vuitton, which reinterpreted Series 7 as a swing. Ten years later, for the chair’s 60th anniversary in 2015, the chair served as inspiration for seven architects in a project called ‘7 cool architects’, in which international starchitects, including Bjarke Ingels (BIG), Zaha Hadid and Jean Nouvel, used the design as a basis of seven new design concepts.

Sources: Arne Jacobsen Design Archives. / Arne Jacobsen’s drawings. The collection of architectural drawings, The Royal Library – Danish Art Library. / Stenum Poulsen, K., Skaarup Larsen, A., & Staunsager, S. (2020). Arne Jacobsen – Designing Denmark. Kolding: Trapholt. / Thau, C., & Vindum, K. (1998). Arne Jacobsen. Copenhagen: Danish Architectural Press.