Wooden chair with thick back legs
The Chaise Tout Bois chair from Vitra is the only chair made entirely of wood by French designer Jean Prouvé. Visually, the chair corresponds to the iconic Standard chair, but its metal base was replaced by one made of wood due to the lack of metal during the Second World War.
The shape of the Chaise Tout Bois The shape of the chair is particularly striking because of the thickness of the back legs. The back legs and backrest supports bear the greatest load when sitting, which is why Prouvé designed these elements to be particularly thick and thus also visually accentuate them.
Made of oak wood without any screws
During the war, several prototypes of the chair were made to test the strength, the joints, the position of the legs and the attachment of the back and seat. The type of wood used depended on what was available at the time. After the war, oak wood, used in France for its hardness and stability for the construction of cathedral roofs and boats, was again sufficiently available. And because its properties are also ideal for a solid wood chair, it was finally Chaise Tout Bois finally made of oak and plywood - at the request of Jean Prouvé's customers also in dark-stained versions.
The Chaise Tout Bois chair from Vitra corresponds to a design from 1941 that does not require any screws at all. Height and seat geometry correspond to the chair standard and thus today's requirements.