Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1931

  • Work on this object began.

1932

  • Work on this object ended.

2021

2025

  • You found it!

Paimio Lounge Chair (model 41)

This is a Paimio Lounge Chair (model 41). It was designed by Alvar Aalto and manufactured by Oy Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas AB.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from The Museum of Modern Art as part of Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics.

It is dated 1931–32. Its medium is bent plywood, bent laminated birch, and solid birch. It is a part of the Exhibitions department.

The Paimio Chair aimed to straighten the patient’s back to help them breathe and cough. The chair was made from curved plywood rather than from the tubular steel favored by many modern designers in the 1920s and 1930s. This iconic chair has furnished countless homes, offices, and lobbies.

It is credited The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. Fund, 1943.

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 66 × 57.8 × 87.6 cm (26 in. × 22 3/4 in. × 34 1/2 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318805693/ |title=Paimio Lounge Chair (model 41) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=28 May 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>