Spun Rotating Chair by Thomas Heatherwick for Magis

Magis Spun Rotating Chair. Thomas Heatherwick was inspired by the craft of large scale metal spinning used to make Timpani drums. Using a rotationally symmetrical form, the Spun Chair appears to be more sculptural when upright, yet when lent on its side, it becomes a comfortable, playful and perhaps therapeutic chair. This version of the chair by Magis is made of plastic rather than metal, which means it can be used outdoors and eventually recycled. Made in Italy.

Dimensions:
Height: 65 cm
Width: 94 cm

Magis History

Magis is the brand that has given a novel twist to domestic design, building its identity on incorporating leading edge technology into mass production. Founded in 1976 in the bustling north eastern corner of Italy by a newcomer to the furniture business, Eugenio Perazza, Magis is today a giant international design laboratory that constantly puts itself to the test, seeking technological sophistication and employing a highly diversified workforce.

Magis seizes the day. It embraces the creativity of leading global designers (Richard Sapper, Jasper Morrison, Stefano Giovannoni, Marc Newson, James Irvine, Konstantin Grcic, Ron Arad, the Bouroullecs and many others) and channels it towards objects perched on the cutting edge. The company even earned kudos from the trendsetter's bible, Wallpaper, which placed Perazza on top of its list of "Ten who will change the way we live".

Magis is 30 years old. Until a short while ago Magis was one of the few companies that manufactured objects in plastic. Today the number has increased considerably. Still, Magis uses the most advanced molding technologies and techniques; it was the first company in the world to apply air molding to aesthetical goods.

Plastic will remain Magis' reference material, although it is now experimenting with others such as die-cast aluminum, aluminum metal sheet and wood.

Magis is a company in perfect health because it has good projects to develop as well as good intellectual capital, which is the distinguishing feature of the company. Excellent designers, a good design team and an extraordinary supply chain. Magis is characterized by the multiplicity of its expressive languages, its search for a deep meaning of the project, and its ethics instead of aesthetics.

Magis takes three/four years to turn the idea of a project into a finished product. Magis faces projects, both difficult and complex, taking high risks. Projects are completed as long as they are supported by a high spirit of experimentation and elevated technical cleverness.

Magis works with very well-known designers, but it has always been open to work with young designers, even at the outset of their careers. Jean-Marie Massaud and Jerszy Seymour made their debut on the design scene thanks to the opportunities Magis gave them. Now Magis discovers new passions and punctually chases former design glories, adding them to the mix. There was the interlude with Charlotte Perriand, and new design chapters are being written with Robin Day, a genius of English design, Eero Aarnio, a genius of Finnish design and Pierre Paulin, a genius of French design.

It is the price to pay for success. To reduce the possibility to be copied the entrance barrier needs to be elevated greatly. One will have to do complex projects with inventive loftiness and considerable engineering investments, and make moulds and equipment with high technical performance (technique is the ability of a company to make technology work). A qualitative distribution should too play an important role against copies selecting design-oriented companies and keeping me-too-oriented ones out.

Konstantin Grcic

Konstantin Grcic was born in Munich, Germany in 1965. After training as a cabinet maker at Parnham College in England he studied Design at the Royal College of Art in London from 1988-1990. Since setting up his own design practice Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design in Munich in 1991 he has developed furniture, products and lighting for some of Europe´s leading design companies such as Agape, Authentics, ClassiCon, Driade, Flos, Iittala, Krups, Lamy, Magis, Moormann, Moroso, Muji, Whirlpool. Konstantin Grcic creates industrial products widely described as pared down, simple, minimalist. What sets him apart from the minimalism in fashionable currency today is that he defines function in human terms, combining maximum formal strictness with considerable mental acuity and humour. Many of his products have received prestigious design awards. In October 2000 Konstantin Grcic is nominated "Guest of Honour" at the Interieur Biennial in Kortrijk/Belgium presenting an extensive show of his work. The Mayday-lamp produced by Flos was selected into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and won the Compasso D´Oro in 2001.