Iron Furniture Design · 2026
Glider Chair
- A' Design Award 2026 Iron Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: PlanAbacus
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 4,721
- Verification code E03A711E78 · Verify this award
About Glider Chair
Glider is a lounge chair inspired by origami and by the lightness of a glider plane. The seat fold is shaped from a single rectangular sheet of 9 mm Merino wool felt. The flat stainless steel frame is bent from one piece and faceted to follow the geometry of the fold. A tubular cantilever base of chromium plated carbon steel provides balance and a gentle bounce. A custom hub and a flex bolt with an integrated O-ring form a flexible joint between frame and base. The seat cover can be replaced by the user, and the wide armrests add comfort.
The Glider Chair engages the rich lineage of tubular steel furniture, a typology that emerged from the radical material and formal investigations of early twentieth-century modernism, when designers sought to harness industrial materials and manufacturing processes to create furniture that embodied both functional efficiency and aesthetic purity, exploring how the inherent properties of bent and welded steel tubing could generate cantilevered structures that appear to defy gravity while providing flexible, responsive support through the spring characteristics of the material itself. This particular iteration demonstrates considerable compositional sophistication through its continuous frame loop, which resolves structural, ergonomic, and aesthetic demands within a single elegant gesture, the chrome-plated tubular steel describing an unbroken arc that simultaneously serves as rear support, armrest armature, and front cantilever base, achieving both visual unity and mechanical integrity through geometric economy. The upholstery presents a carefully considered chromatic choice, a cool blue-grey textile whose muted saturation and heathered surface texture suggest affinities with northern European design traditions, where restrained palettes and natural material expressions communicate values of modesty, durability, and understated refinement, the fabric's woven character visible in the diffused lighting creates subtle surface interest while maintaining overall tonal coherence. The ergonomic proportions reveal thoughtful attention to human comfort parameters, with the backrest rake angle, seat depth, and armrest positioning calibrated to support relaxed seated postures while the cantilevered structure provides gentle flex responsive to body weight and movement, translating engineering principles into experiential qualities of buoyancy and resilience. The formal relationship between the structural frame and upholstered elements achieves a productive tension, the linear precision and reflective brilliance of the chrome contrasting with the soft volumes and light-absorbing qualities of the textile surfaces, creating a material dialogue between industrial and domestic, hard and soft, geometric and organic. This work invites contemplation of how furniture design navigates competing demands of structural performance, bodily comfort, spatial economy, aesthetic coherence, and material honesty, balancing functional imperatives with formal aspirations to create objects that serve daily life while rewarding sustained visual attention.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Glider Chair evokes images of a glider plane's aerodynamic lightness and memories of childish delight in folding a paper plane. Like origami, its basic elements are created solely through folding and bending. The focus of this project has been on ensuring a harmonious and intuitive expression, despite the chair's complexity. Made from 9 mm wool felt, the chair features a seat cover that users can easily replace themselves, potentially with a rug, highlighting the original folding principle.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 780 mm, Depth 650 mm, Height 790 mm. Weight 22 kg. Seat fold made from 9 mm Merino wool felt. Cushion made from foam. Skeleton made from aluminium. Flat metal frame made from stainless steel. Hub made from stainless steel with small rubber inserts. Tubular cantilever base made from chromium plated carbon steel.
- Tags
- conceptual furniture, origami furniture, felt furniture, tubular cantilever chair, sheet metal furniture, lounge chair, magic carpet, rug, tassels, Superdesign Show 2025, Milano Design Week 2025, PlanAbacus, Angaard, Glider Chair, Beuys
- Production Technology
- Glider Chair is constructed through textile folding and precision-engineered metalwork, staying true to the origami-inspired concept. The seat-fold is shaped from a single rectangular sheet, the flat metal frame is bent from one piece and faceted to follow the fold’s geometry, and the tubular cantilever base provides balance and a gentle bounce. A custom Hub connects directly to the skeleton, and a Flex Bolt with an integrated O-ring creates a flexible, seamless joint between frame and base.
- Design Challenge
- Glider Chair is built around the tapered T-shape of the seat-fold, which demands unconventional design solutions for the chair's other parts, such as shaping the flat metal frame to follow the seat-fold as closely as possible so the chair's beauty is apparent from every angle, and designing the iconic Hub and special fittings such as the Flex Bolt to ensure strength and stability with the single rear support point. The cantilever base required its own extensive material and bending research.
- Project Duration
- The project began in 2009, when a paper model led to a three-week residency at the Danish Art Workshops to build the first prototype. Early versions in 4 mm grain leather explored self-supporting folding, but the design evolved as comfort and strength required a more traditional construction. The final prototype was completed in 2025 in Copenhagen and exhibited at Superdesign Show during Milano Design Week. Work now continues on a self-supporting metal mesh version.
- Operation Flow
- The chair fits, with its blend of geometric and organic elements, both traditional and modern spaces. The wide armrest adds the presence of a fully upholstered armchair, while the merino wool keeps the body at a comfortable temperature, is self-cleaning thanks to its natural lanolin, and provides sound-absorbing qualities. The cantilever offers a gentle, natural bounce. With tassels hanging from the front, the stage is set for an open, informal and playful conversation.
- Research
- Research focused on whether a folded sheet could form a self-supporting functional seat. Early tests in 4 mm grain leather explored stiffness, comfort and load, and used a Hub with a C-clamp to avoid perforation. These tests revealed the need for sheet inserts. Felt was later introduced for its aesthetic qualities and material flexibility, while the Hub evolved, now perforating the fabric. Current research includes conceptual studies toward a fully self-supporting metal mesh version.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by origami, the aim was to design a sculptural yet comfortable chair through uncompromising folding and bending. The Beuys Series references Joseph Beuys and his symbolic use of felt, while the forthcoming Hodja Series, crafted from rugs, draws on the Danish children's tale of Hodja and his flying carpet, fulfilling the idea of folding a rug into a chair.
- Patents
- International Registration Number: DM/078544
Date of the international registration: 21.03.2012
Designated Contracting Parties: Switzerland (CH), European Union (EM)
Bulletin No. 12/2017 - 31.03.2017
The "Glider Chair" has earlier been named "Flyverstol" (Danish translation) and "Glider A-52"
Colors of Glider Chair
Grand Interview about Glider Chair
One aspect of the Glider Chair that has not yet received the attention it truly deserves is the degree to which it represents an entirely new typology within contemporary furniture design. Many high-end pieces distinguish themselves through materials or detailing, but the Glider Chair is built on a structural and conceptual logic that is fundamentally different from what currently exists on the market.The chair unites sculptural expression and functional clarity in a way that is rarely seen. Its form is not an aesthetic gesture added on top of a conventional construction; it is the construction. The seat-fold, the cantilever base, and the overall balance of the piece emerge from one coherent idea, where structure, geometry and storytelling are inseparable.This integration of narrative is also unique. In the Beuys Series, the reference to Joseph Beuys’ healing is embedded in the felt, while the upcoming Hodja Series draws on the cultural mythology of flying carpets. These layers are not decorative — they shape the identity and the physical experience of the chair.Finally, the replaceable seat-fold introduces a level of longevity and adaptability that is extremely rare in the high-end segment. It allows the chair to evolve over time without traditional upholstery work, making it both sustainable and visually versatile.If there is one dimension I would highlight for the design community, it is this: the Glider Chair is not simply a new chair. It is a new way of thinking about how sculptural logic, functional engineering and cultural storytelling can coexist as equals within a single piece of furniture.
The felt entered the process after I had completed my initial prototype in 4 mm vegetable-tanned grain leather. Grain leather is beautiful and performs well structurally in relation to the seat-fold, but its smooth surface can be a challenge in terms of comfort. A colleague suggested that I try working with felt, and I’m still grateful for that hint. The introduction of felt, in combination with the glider theme, immediately opened a conceptual door, allowing me to draw on Joseph Beuys’ compelling story of his plane crash and rescue by nomads.The interplay of diametrical opposites has always been a natural part of my practice. I’m drawn to the meeting point between the organic and the industrial — not as a contrast to be resolved, but as a productive friction that generates form, meaning and emotional resonance. In the Glider Chair, the warmth of the felt and the geometry of the steel are not competing forces; they are two parts of the same idea, reflecting a broader design philosophy in which materials with fundamentally different logics can coexist and enrich one another.That this pairing also fits seamlessly into a wide range of spaces is a welcome bonus. It softens the modern functionalist home and adds a touch of modernism to the traditional living room.
I am a passionate advocate for Merino wool, both in my work and in my daily life, and I cannot think of a material better suited to this chair project. Merino wool felt supports human comfort while contributing to long-term sustainability. It is essential for our wellbeing that we embrace naturally functional materials, which in my view will always be preferable. The structure of the felt, its expression, and the way it is shaped and processed open up possibilities for a wide range of new products based on emerging sustainable materials and future material logics. Such innovations could form the basis for future series, expanding the narrative universe established by the Beuys Series and the Hodja Series.
Receiving the Iron A’ Design Award positions the Glider Chair within the broader discourse on art-driven design by acknowledging its blend of conceptual thinking, material exploration, and functional construction. The recognition shows that the professional design community values approaches that merge artistic intention with practical form.In this sense, the award suggests that the Glider Chair’s narrative and symbolic layers are understood as meaningful components of its identity, not merely decorative storytelling. It affirms that culturally engaged design has a legitimate place within contemporary practice, even if it remains a niche within the commercial market. For me, the recognition signals that hybrid forms — situated between fine art and furniture design — are taken seriously and can contribute to a wider conversation about what design can be today.
The first prototype of the Glider Chair was created during a three week residency at The Danish Art Workshops (SVFK). I arrived with nothing more than a 1:10 paper model of the seat fold and armrest, with no clear idea of how the base should be. This early version, made in 4 mm grain leather with an 80 × 4 mm flat-metal frame, allowed the legs to split into two 40 mm supports, resulting in an almost insect-like design. When I later reduced the frame thickness to 3 mm, this solution was no longer viable, and I realized that conventional joinery would not support the design. This challenge led to the development of the central Hub and the tubular cantilever base, which also gave support to the front of the seat. I could have chosen to fix the tubular cantilever frame to the flat metal frame with a conventional bolt-through-a-hole solution. Instead, I developed a connection that extends the chair’s intuitive assembly logic: the tubular frame simply slides over the flat metal frame from behind, naturally finding its position before being locked in place with the Hub.This makes the Flex Bolt an intentional part of the chair’s visual identity — a kind of elegant cufflink in the form of a clean Ø22 head that echoes the Ø22 tube itself and avoids the visual noise of a traditional hex socket. The fact that the Flex Bolt is partially concealed by the outer edge of the seat-fold subtly reinforces how the chair is refined down to the smallest detail.
I always strive to produce something that stands out from the mainstream. My creative process — in art as well as design — often begins with a desire to push beyond what is considered possible. When someone tells me something is difficult or problematic to produce, that is precisely when I become most motivated. The Glider Chair’s sixteen-year development reflects this philosophy. I often begin from a place of deliberate naivety, allowing myself to explore without constraints before gradually returning to common sense. This long arc of experimentation sometimes opens unexpected pathways, such as the development of Glider Chair Nomad (2016), which pushes the seat-fold principle to its limits. The time and care invested in following these pathways — striving to solve problems as they arise without ever compromising the integrity of the chair, and resisting any “quick fix” solutions that would put its structure or aesthetic at risk — this is what it truly means to complete a design.
The Hodja Series based on rugs truly began to take shape with the introduction of Glider Chair Nomad in 2016, which added a rolled up headrest and folded side wings that pushed the origami principle to its limits. Yet I have never forgotten the original idea: a fully self supporting seat-fold with no or minimal internal support. At SVFK, I created a 1:6 metal mesh model that was both structurally strong and transparent, casting a beautiful shadow that replicated the seat-fold on the floor. This experiment opens the door to future limited editions and special editions, all rooted in the same foundational folding and bending principle that defines the Glider Chair. In that sense, the Glider Chair remains both the point of origin and the continuing reference for the entire body of work.
Many art-design projects contribute valuable ideas to the world, but the space I have carved out — balancing conceptual storytelling with functional furniture — is uniquely my own. The Glider Chair demonstrates that a piece can be both sculptural and practical, both culturally resonant and commercially viable. If there is one message I would pass on to the next generation of designers, it is that innovation often emerges from the courage to merge disciplines, challenge conventions, and allow materials to speak with their own voice.
The possibility for users to replace the seat cover themselves was not part of the original concept; it emerged later as a natural evolution of the design. For the individual owner, the ability to fold and mount their own seat cover deepens their relationship with the chair over time — the act of replacing the cover becomes a small ritual that renews both the object and the user’s sense of ownership. It also allows the chair to follow the owner through different phases of life, materials, and interiors, giving it a continuity that most furniture never achieves. This feature makes the Glider Chair especially relevant for the hospitality sector, where durability, maintenance, and aesthetic adaptability are essential. As new sustainable materials continue to enter the market, they can be integrated into future material series, expanding the narrative possibilities in the same way the Beuys Series and Hodja Series have done.
The sensory experience of the Glider Chair was calibrated through a long process of testing, refinement, and close attention to how the body responds to movement and material. The tubular cantilever base was developed to create a gentle, natural bounce — just enough to give a sense of lightness, but never so much that it compromises stability. This subtle motion is essential to the chair’s character; it echoes the effortless glide of an aircraft in the air.The broad, faceted stainless steel armrests were shaped to evoke the presence of a fully upholstered armchair, even though the overall silhouette remains lean and aerodynamic. This contrast between visual lightness and physical support was intentional. I wanted the user to feel both grounded and uplifted at the same time.Emotionally, the Glider Chair draws on two parallel associations: the aerodynamic lightness of a glider plane and the childhood joy of folding a paper plane. Both references speak to a sense of freedom, imagination, and movement. My intention was to create a piece of furniture that does more than provide comfort — it should also awaken a quiet sense of playfulness and curiosity in the person who encounters it in a living space. The chair invites you to sit, but it also invites you to dream.