Monobloc, why do we see it everywhere?

No matter where in the world one comes from, it is likely that they have sat in it at least once if not several times. With slightly slant seating, a slit on the backrest or occasional floral patterns, two armrests & four feet. This plain white chair is everywhere, named Monobloc, which comes from, ‘mono’ meaning single, and ‘bloc’ meaning block. Stacked in rows at the back of the school auditorium, laid out randomly at a lowly lit cafe in Goa or balconies of beach houses of Pondicherry.They provide simple comfort in various settings. Which is why it is known as a context-free piece of furniture. 

So how is it that this simple white plastic chair is everywhere?

Monobloc’s story begins with a Canadian Architect and designer known as Douglas Simpson when he had an idea to create a piece of furniture that was mass-producible. This was in 1942, a crucial time for design. And frankly, this idea was ahead of its time. But that did not stop Simpson from creating the prototype. The Monobloc is made from plastic. Amazingly elegant and fluid for its time, it had a narrow back, wide seat, tapered legs, and no armrests. [3]

After Simpson’s, the next Monobloc did not arrive until 1964. Based on Simpson’s idea of creating a piece of furniture that is mass-producible, plus wanting to make it stackable and lightweight. The Bofinger chair, also known as BA 1171 by architect Helmut Batzner was born. It was the first adult-size plastic chair to be mass-produced. Architect Batzner designed it in collaboration with the Bofinger company from Germany. The chair was stackable, weatherproof, suitable for outdoors, was made from fibreglass reinforced polyester, and was made in under five minutes. [4]

Later in 1968, designer Verner Panton had the idea of creating the first-ever plastic chair in one piece with a cantilever design. He was a visionary, and wanted to create something that ‘grew out of floor’. This chair was made from, again, fibreglass-reinforced polyester. Due to its expressive form, it became an icon of the twentieth century. [5]

Then in 1972, French engineer Henry Massonnet established a defining style for the Monobloc, the Fauteuil 300. Massonnet wanted Monobloc to become a lifestyle product. Fauteuil 300 was also known as the affordable Monobloc. The model was produced in his own company STAMP. [6] It was made by ‘injection moulding’, a method where thermoplastic polypropylene is heated at approximately 200° C and the resulting melt is injected into a mould. [7] This is how even today the Monobloc is made.

And then in 1983, came the Grosfillex resin garden chair. This was the chair that was produced in high volume and was marketed by the Grosfillex group. [8] Due to this, it became a household piece.

The Monobloc has had many contemporary iterations afterward including, the La Marie by Philipe Strack in 1998; the Air chair by Jasper Morrison in 1999; and the Tip ton RE chair, by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby in 2011. And most recently, in 2020, the Bell chair by Konstantin Grcic, which is completely recyclable and made from recycled polypropylene.[9] [10] [11] [12]

The Monobloc does not have an original creator, as no patents were filed for the chair ever. Since the launch of the Fauteuil 300, there have been millions of manufacturers around the world. Hence, it is known as the best-selling piece of furniture in history.[13]

But this tag of ‘ the best selling piece of furniture in history’ comes with the horrors of humongous use as well as plastic waste. The mould for Monobloc is expensive but helps manufacturers make a lot of money as the chair is scalable, and little workforce, time, and material cost is required when mass producing. One chair roughly takes ₹250 – ₹300 to be made and is sold at around ₹800 – ₹900. Even today Monobloc is made by injection moulding and manufacturers produce around 10 million units every year. [14] Making this a controversial piece of furniture. 

Many people around the globe argue that Monobloc has achieved ubiquity at a global scale, as also mentioned in social theorist Ethan Zuckerman’s blog. [15]

This can be seen as both a positive and a negative, while some people consider the Monobloc as an example of the greatest design of all time that fulfils all the aspects a great design aspires to be. On the other hand, some consider it as ‘the real evil of globalisation’ and few even call it ‘ugly’ and hate it to the extent of banning it from public spaces as they believe it would preserve the cityscape. [16]

How we view a design depends upon our knowledge of it. The design of The Monobloc has evolved; being as thin as possible so it requires lesser material and can be made with lesser material; while being durable, stable, weatherproof, and light at the same time. There is nothing much to be changed about it. [17] It works universally across the globe. Whether one likes or hates it, this white plastic chair is here to stay.

References:

1. Flickr. (2021). Those White Plastic Chairs. [online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/groups/those-white-plastic-chairs/pool/ [Accessed 06 May 2024].
2. www.phase.com. (n.d.). A Context-Free Design Item – Phase Mag #23. [online] Available at: https://www.phase.com/en/magazine/a-context-free-design-item [Accessed 11 May 2024].
3. ‌www.greggsimpson.com. (n.d.). Furniture. [online] Available at: https://www.greggsimpson.com/Furniture.html [Accessed 11 May 2024].
4. ‌Rudolf Baresel-Bofinger and Menzolit Werke Albert Schmidt Kraichtal-Menzingen (1964). Bofinger chair. [online] Victoria & Albert Museum. Available at: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O372075/bofinger-chair-stacking-chair-rudolf-baresel-bofinger/.
5. www.vitra.com. (n.d.). Vitra | Panton Chair. [online] Available at: https://vitra.com/en-it/product/panton-chair [Accessed 11 May 2024].‌
6. collectiononline.design-museum.de. (n.d.). Vitra Design Museum: Collection. [online] Available at: https://collectiononline.design-museum.de/#/en/object/40498?_k=vkzirr [Accessed 11 May 2024].
7. ‌Hubs. (n.d.). Injection moulding: The manufacturing & design guide. [online] Available at: https://www.hubs.com/guides/injection-molding/.
8. ‌Rashid, K. (2015). A brief history of the humble plastic chair. [online] CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/history-of-plastic-chairs-karim-rashid/index.html [Accessed 11 May 2024].
9. Architonic.com. (2019). La Marie. [online] Available at: https://www.architonic.com/en/product/kartell-la-marie/1058167 [Accessed 11 May 2024].
10. ‌collectiononline.design-museum.de. (n.d.). Vitra Design Museum: Collection. [online] Available at: https://collectiononline.design-museum.de/#/en/object/40960?_k=2idw5d [Accessed 11 May 2024].
11. ‌‌www.vitra.com. (n.d.). Vitra | Tip Ton. [online] Available at: https://www.vitra.com/en-it/product/tip-ton [Accessed 11 May 2024].
12. Dezeen. (2020). €77 Bell Chair by Konstantin Grcic for Magis is made in less than a minute. [online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2020/08/04/bell-chair-magis-konstantin-grcic/.
13. Wikipedia. (2022). Monobloc (chair). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monobloc_(chair).
14. ‌ What Design Can Do. (2022). The Plastic Elephant in the Room. [online] Available at: https://www.whatdesigncando.com/stories/the-plastic-elephant-in-the-room/#:~:text=As%20such%20the%20Monobloc%20is [Accessed 11 May 2024].
15. ‌‌zuckerman, ethan (2011). Those White Plastic Chairs – The Monobloc and the Context-Free Object. [online] Ethan Zuckerman. Available at: https://ethanzuckerman.com/2011/04/06/those-white-plastic-chairs-the-monobloc-and-the-context-free-object/.
16. Archive.org. (2023). Abschied von Plastikstühlen – News Basel: Stadt – Basler Zeitung. [online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20080831060136/http://www.bazonline.ch/basel/stadt/Abschied-von-Plastikstuehlen/story/17131280 [Accessed 11 May 2024].
17. neo. (2020). How This Chair Conquered the World. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwApFGwMIMQ.[Accessed 06 May 2024]