Dezeen’s A-Zdvent calendar: Garden Egg chair by Peter Ghyczy

Curator Jana Scholze, who acquired an original version of the chair for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s 2008 exhibition Cold War Modern: Design 1945-1970, said: «Its UFO form, portability, and suitability for informal lounging make it very characteristic of the period, reflecting the progressive, Utopian visions prominent in contemporary designs.»
Elastogran GmbH only produced a handful of the chairs as prototypes in Lemförde before setting up production in more affordable East Germany. When the lid is lifted up it supports a further cushion that acts as a backrest. A cushioned seat is positioned in the centre of the rounded plastic form, which curves upwards to form armrests on either side. It was manufactured for two or three years before production was halted due to the complexity of the lacquering process. The firm recommenced production of an improved version of the Garden Egg chair in 2001, which is available in a range of interchangeable colour options for the seat and shell. Dezeen is publishing an A to Z of   iconic chairs to count down the days until Christmas. Ghyczy was tasked with developing products to showcase the creative potential of the company’s polyurethane plastic and designed the chair with a curvaceous shell that would be difficult to manufacture using other materials. The plastic’s imperviousness to water makes it suitable for use outdoors and the chair also features a lid that can be closed when not in use to create a watertight seal. Catch up with the list so far »