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The Aluminum Pressed Chair Celebrates 10 Years

You’d never guess that the Pressed Chair was molded from one thin piece of aluminum, nor would you likely surmise that it’s partially manufactured by a company that makes automotive chassis – but both are true. Celebrating ten years of existence, the Pressed Chair designed by Harry Thaler for Moormann, is one of the brand’s crazier design ideas.

Made using a thin sheet of 2.5 mm thick aluminum, this piece of furniture was put through tests for a year and a half before being finalized. Trials, bead depth experiments, broken pressing tools, plenty of prototypes, and more were all part of its creation story. Zero rivets, screws, hooks, or eyelets are used on the Pressed Chair, it’s simply pressed into shape as the name implies! The chair’s outline is cut from an aluminum sheet before the curvatures and indentations are pressed into the material. Then the legs and backrest are molded to the correct angles for stability and comfort.

The Pressed Chair is being celebrated through 11 custom models that demonstrate how flexibly it can be used. There’s also an exhibition of the chair in the X-D-E-P-O-T of Die Neue Sammlung, also known as The Design Museum in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich.

aluminum chair

Photo: Nils Holger Moormann

stack of colored aluminum chairs

Photo: Nils Holger Moormann

colored aluminum chairs

Photo: Nils Holger Moormann

white aluminum chair next to cabinet

Photo: Jaeger & Jaeger

office setting with desks and aluminum chairs

Photo: Jaeger & Jaeger

red aluminum chairs

Photo: Lorraine Hellwig

flat aluminum chairs in production

Photo: Nils Holger Moormann

man carrying aluminum chair before formation

Photo: Lorraine Hellwig

flat aluminum chairs in production

Photo: Nils Holger Moormann

flat aluminum chairs in production

Photo: Nils Holger Moormann

aluminum chairs in production

Photo: Nils Holger Moormann

To learn more about the Pressed Chair, visit moormann.de.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.