From the publisher:
“One comes home tired from working all day and finds a chair uncomfortable.”
Here begins Bruno Munari’s contemplation of the choice between aesthetics and functionality when designing a piece of furniture. To argue his case, Munari analyzes the most obvious case: that of the chair. There are many chairs on which one may sit: the extremely low chairs, those with long seats, angular seats, etc. “But the truth is a common relaxing chair among a hundred thousand.” In a text that is at turns funny, smart and witty, the great designer reminds us how we can waste a thousand years inventing furniture that change swith the passing fad, when it would be more worthwhile to refine existing models with an eye to comfort, never losing sight of the ultimate goal: functionality and durability. The 14 photographs and accompanying text were originally published in 1944 in Domus Magazine #202.