Vitra Chaise Tout Bois Chair, 1941

Chaise Tout Bois chair by Jean Prouvé for Vitra.

Chaise Tout Bois is a robust and well-designed chair constructed entirely out of wood. It is an evolution of the iconic Standard chair, but the Chaise replaced its metal legs with wood. The Second World War created a scarcity in metal, resulting in innovation and experimentation in wooden furniture.

The rear legs of the chair hold the majority of the weight of the user’s body and it took a few prototypes until Prouve could perfect the structural strength of the chair. In 1947, the Chaise Tout Bois won an award in the ‘Meubles de France’ competition for a visually attractive yet good quality chair that could be mass-produced at the time.