Frank Lloyd Wright's Iconic Taliesin 1 Armchair

The Famed Architect’s Personal Armchair is Relaunched with a Modern Touch

With 2017 marking the 150th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday, and a renewed interest in the American architect and his works, Italian furniture brand Cassina in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, is bringing back to life a re-issue of Lloyd Wright’s Iconic Taliesin 1 armchair.

First conceived and designed by the American architect back in 1949, the geometrically shaped Taliesin 1 armchair was a personal project for the living room of his Taliesin West home and studio in Arizona. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that Cassina decided to mass produce a version of the iconic armchair; yet even some thirty years later, it was considered too avant-garde, and discontinued after 4 short years in 1990.

In light of the recent anniversary and public awareness, Cassina and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation deem the time right for a re-introduction of the Taliesin 1 armchair to the world at large. The chair will be produced in its original beech plywood form with a cherry wood veneer, either in natural or stained black oak.

Frank Lloyd Wright was prolific in his work, and although mostly renowned for architecture described as organic, the early part of his career saw quite a few examples of furniture design, one

of which is the Taliesin 1. An icon that highlights the architect’s shift to more sophisticated solutions, the chair has angled components and a complex geometrical structure that ensures its stability, and is reminiscent of the Japanese art of paper folding; the armchair’s distinctive origami lines a result of intricately folding a single piece of plywood.

Taliesin 1’s modern re-interpretation is an updated look. Craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology meet in the skilful carpentry workmanship, while added comfort is conferred by a slightly more reclined backrest and thicker padding that is upholstered in a choice of leather or fabric. More emphasis on its folds have been created by removing the original front feet to simplify the lines of the chair’s geometrical body. The chair’s wooden edges though, are deliberately left visible in keeping with the essence of the original design.

A limited-edition series of 450 chairs with a more contemporary flavor will celebrate the launch of the Taliesin 1, in burgundy, petrol green and dark blue. As in the original, this edition will also be made from beech plywood lacquered in matt and upholstered in short-hair leather in the same shade as the lacquer.