Le Corbusier Classics LC2, LC3 and LC4 Get Colorful, Courtesy Of Cassina.

Three well-known pieces from the iconic collection of LC furniture by Le Corbusier are now available in wild contemporary color versions from the exclusive manufacturer of authentic Le Corbusier furniture, Cassina.



The classic tubular steel and leather "Grand Confort" collection (specifically the armchair, 3 seater sofa and chaise longue) are now available in various colored fabric and frame options as part of Cassina's Masters Collection (I Maestri).

First, some history for you:


The original LC furniture range by Le Corbusier, whose actual name is Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, was a system of furniture co-designed with his cousins Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand in 1928. The tubular steel furniture, especially the famous LC4 chaise and Grand Confort chair, both of which are in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art, projected a new rationalist aesthetic that came to epitomize the International Style.

The Original LC2 Grand Confort:

above: Original LC2 - Fauteuil Grand confort, petit modèle, 1928, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand. photo Cassina © FLC/ADAGP

The Original LC3 Grand Confort:

above: Original LC3 - Fauteuil Grand Confort, grand modèle, 1928. Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand. photo Cassina © FLC/ADAGP

The Original LC4 Chaise Longue:

above: Original LC4 - Chaise longue, 1928. Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand. photo Cassina © FLC/ADAGP
 
The classic Armchair and two or three seat sofa with steel frame are and have been available from Cassina's I Maestri collection in the following finishes: polished chrome - matte black - gloss black (basalte) - gloss grey - gloss light blue - gloss green - gloss bordeaux - gloss ochre.



The LC4 longue chaise from Cassina was and still is available with adjustable chrome or matte black cradle and matte black base. The upholstery of the base is available in the following materials: hairy skin with black leather headrest (shown above), all leather with a black leather headrest and in a special canvas with leather footrest and headrest.


Now, the new colors!



A series of updates and new details have been added to the iconic models that Cassina exclusively produces in the “Cassina I Maestri” collection. This new range has been carried out in close collaboration with Le Corbusier Foundation and through the analysis of original documents and drawings belonging to the designers. The result is an even more vibrant and contemporary vision.

The New Color LC2 Grand Confort Armchairs:




Alongside the better known chrome-plated pieces in black leather, Cassina enhances the seven tones established for its metal frame structure. The company proposes them in innumerable combinations with a fabric collection approved by Le Corbusier Foundation, and the heirs of Jeanneret and Perriand.

The New LC3 Grand Confort Sofas:





The design idea of deconstructing the seat into its base elements of supporting frame/cushions is further enhanced. The LC2 model is now also proposed with down padding, while the versions in dacron® in both the LC2 and LC3 models are even softer. All elements are designed to highlight the relationship between cushion/content and metal frame/container. The result is a product with an even richer and pleasantly lived-in look. There is also more flexibility of choice for the LC4.

The New LC 4 Chaise Longue:



The famous leather chaise-longue can now be accompanied by a cushion in the same shade as the entire mattress, as well as the usual version with black cushion. The result is a consistent, plain colour that enhances the purity of the form. Cassina has also worked on the textures of the upholstery materials. In the basic covers of category X leather, a new extremely soft and pleasantly tactile leather is introduced. Its sensorial qualities make every piece of furniture even more welcoming and attuned to individual desires.



As well as the distinctive symbol of authenticity of the Cassina brand that is shown above (which includes a progressive production number, the signatures of the designers and the Cassina I Maestri logo) found on all models, the Cassina signature will now also be visible on the base of the metallic frames of the LC2, LC3 and LC4 seat.

This logo indicates that Cassina is the only company with exclusive international rights to reproduce Le Corbusier furniture. This is in accordance with Fondazione Le Corbusier and the heirs of the co-designers that, since 1964, have chosen Cassina as their exclusive spokesperson due to its sensibility and respect for the original project, as well as its consolidated production expertise.

read the whole press release here

images courtesy of Style Park, Cassina and The Foundation Le Courbusier

Mature Style For Your Mini Me: Modern Furniture Design Classics for Kids

In the 1700s and 1800s it was commonplace for children's furniture to look exactly like adult furniture, only smaller in size. Then in the 1900's, and certainly by my birth in the mid 1960s, children's furnishings and toys were made of plastic, vinyl or formica and came in bright primary colors or sickly pastels and were often printed with duckies or trains. Furnishings that concentrated more on function that form.

They usually didn't have much aesthetic appeal to an adult, their biggest selling point being that they were safe, durable and 'easy to keep clean'. This yielded such popular, albeit tacky, items as bean bag chairs, ride on plastic horses and beds shaped like castles and race cars.

Now there are lots of beautiful modern furniture options for children on the market that cater to both form and function. Several new companies and manufacturers such as Argington, Iglooplay, Offi kids, Netto, Oeuf, Ooba, and the Magis Me Too Collection (see the links to many more modern children's stores in my sidebar) have appeared over the past few years who make quality modern cribs, dressing tables, bassinets and the like in palatable, tasteful colors and woods.

But for this post, I'm sharing with you a return to the 1700s and 1800s with some children's sized replicas of adult designer furniture. Only this go round, it's 'modern classic' furniture that comes in pint sized versions.



Actual scaled down pieces (both authentic and replicas) of well known works by designers like Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier, Arne Jacobsen, Vernor Panton and more eight different companies.



Either children are writing down their wanton desires for a mini Barcelona chair on their Christmas list or parents are simply looking for more stylish children's furnishings so they can leave the door to their kids room ajar without shame. Either way, the following are some truly nice examples that are all available for purchase.

First off, if you didn't know, KnollStudio, Herman Miller and Kartell actually do make some of their own modern furniture in scaled down versions.


The Child's Womb Chair by KnollStudio:


The Womb Chair has been developed in both small and medium scale, to complement and accompany the standard Womb Chair designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948

The Child's Barcelona Chair and Ottoman by KnollStudio:

The Child’s Barcelona Chair and Ottoman are 85% scale of the standard Barcelona Chair and Ottoman designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929


and the Child's Eames Molded Plastic Rocker by Herman Miller, originally designed in 1948:



The Philipe Starck Ghost Chair by Kartell now comes in a child's version called the Lou Lou Ghost Chair:


All of the above chairs can be purchased here at All Modern Baby.


Another example is Little Nest of Australia who creates scaled down replicas of modern classic furniture like the immensely popular Eames Lounge Chair, The Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair, the Barcelona Chair by Meis Van der Rohe and other designs that have resurged as popular design icons ver the past 2 decades. Because these are reproduced items and not made by Knoll or Herman Miller, or associated with the original licensed pieces, they have different nomenclature.

The Mini-e based on the Eames lounge chair:

The Club Chair (based on Le Corbusier's LC-1):

The Little Bert (based on Harry Bertoia's classic Wire Chair):

The Play Ball (based on Eero Arnio's Ball Chair):

The Cygnet (based on Arne Jacobsen's Swan Chair):

The Madrid (based on Mies Van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair):

The Yolk (Based on Arne Jacobsen's Egg Chair):

Visit Little Nest to learn more.




Another company creating mini versions of collectible and stunning modern furniture design is Living Jewels of Germany who sells the scaled down versions Le Corbusier's famous Le Grand Confort collection; the single seater, the two seater versions and a daybed.





Available in various colored leathers, the collection is quite sophisticated, even for the most design-savvy juvenile.








Visit Living Jewels to learn more.


Boom has a collection called MiniBoom that makes a few sofas that replicate the ones I've seen in many of my friends' homes. A funky little modern sofa called, not surprisingly, the Modern Sofa and a little sectional sofa called the Lucy.


You can buy the Lucy Sectional or the Modern Sofa here.

And in 2006, Vitra reproduced their famous Vernor Panton chair in a mini me size:




Learn more about the Panton Junior here.


Finnish designer Alvar Aalto's famous birch 3 legged stool is made in both adult and children's sizes as well.


Both adult and child Aalto stools are available for purchase from Unica home.

Now, I'm waiting for a Barcelona dog bed. After all, The Dog Bar already makes one based on the Le Corbusier chair.