Harry Bertoia's 'Diamond chair'

Another gem from Manchester's Art Gallery design collection

I've always admired Harry Bertoia's, Diamond chair due to the complexity of the lattice work construction, yet the chair retains a beautifully fluidity and lightness in its aesthetic. As Bertoia put it, "If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them."

They were produced with varying degrees of upholstery over their light grid-work, and they were handmade because a suitable mass production process could not be found. Unfortunately, the chair edge utilized two thin wires welded on either side of the mesh seat. This design had been granted a patent to the Eames for the wire chair produced by Herman Miller.

Herman Miller eventually won and Bertoia & Knoll redesigned the seat edge, using a thicker, single wire, and grinding down the edge of the seat wires at a smooth angle - the same way the chairs are produced today. Nonetheless, the commercial success enjoyed by Bertoia's diamond chair was immediate.