Thonet 'Flex' chairs by Gerd Lange

Every time we come across the Thonet 'Flex 2000' chairs, we are reminded of just how intriguing this design by Gerd Lange must have been when it first came out in the 1970s. And, in fact, it still is today!

Its chunky rounded legs, made of solid beech wood, are not exactly what you’d expect from a lightweight stackable chair. The plastic seat, on the other hand, is so thin that it behaves like a piece of leather under tension, flexing when you sit on it (hence the chair’s name!). Bumper-shaped plywood flanks compensate for the seats lack of rigidity, and also allow for a stable stacking. As if that weren’t enough, aluminium armrests that look like they’ve come straight from an aeroplane prototype round off the design. The choice of connectors between the parts is also surprising: each wooden leg is slotted into the plastic seat just like a pen into its cap. And if you want to remove the armrests, you’ll need to use (probably for the first time!) the 8 mm wrench from your set of Allen keys to unscrew oversized bolts.

Despite its oddness, the Flex chair has been anything but an experiment. It was widely adopted, not only as a dining chair as originally intended, but also in offices, public buildings and so on. The batch we have just received comes from a cultural centre in Flanders. The production date is unclear, but the chairs bear the stamp ‘Made in Western Germany’. They are in working condition, but show signs of heavy use. We have set the price at €79 per chair, including VAT!