The experimental designs of the Sixties and 70s have been having fun with one thing of a resurgence lately. At Milan Design Week 2025 final month, we noticed dialog pits, exhibitions and talks staged in beds, low-slung seating, high-gloss surfaces and deep pile carpets – the truth is, all method of carpets. The proliferation had us reflecting on what it’s about this period that continues to enchantment, some 50 years later.
Pierre Paulin debuted the ‘F300’ chair in 1965 with furnishings model Artifort
(Picture credit score: Paulin Paulin Paulin)
The work of 1 designer particularly from that point appears to ring a bell: Pierre Paulin. He believed furnishings (equivalent to his tables, honoured in an exhibition final 12 months) needs to be intuitive, relaxed and unconstrained by conventional home hierarchies – a sentiment that aligned with the cultural shifts of the late Sixties, and which feels simply as related at this time.
The chair is made utilizing complicated and largely guide, multistage manufacturing course of
(Picture credit score: Gubi)
This want for extra informal, sensual furnishings has not gone unnoticed by Danish model Gubi, which at this time unveils its newest reissue: Paulin’s ‘F300’ chair, a design that made its debut in 1965 – a supercharged part of the French designer’s profession.
‘It captures a spirit of Sixties experimentation that also resonates at this time – not out of nostalgia, however as a result of we’re craving a sort of relaxed informality in our interiors’
Marie Schmidt, Gubi CEO
Hammock-like in its kind and in contrast to something seen earlier than, the unique fibreglass chair marked a turning level in Paulin’s follow, transferring away from conventional varieties and into one thing extra sculptural and radical. It launched a brand new chair typology altogether, one which challenged what home furnishings might feel and appear like.
‘It captures a spirit of Sixties experimentation that also resonates at this time – not out of nostalgia, however as a result of we’re craving a sort of relaxed informality in our interiors,’ displays Marie Schmidt, Gubi CEO. ‘It’s low, tactile, and invitations dialog at eye stage.’
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For Gubi – already in shut dialogue with the Paulin household, particularly with the designer’s son Benjamin Paulin, who acts as a steward of his father’s design legacy by means of the studio Paulin, Paulin, Paulin – following the reissue of the favored ‘Pacha’ lounge chair and ottoman, the ‘F300’ felt like a pure subsequent step. Nonetheless, the method was something however easy.
‘Our in-house staff basically works like furnishings detectives. We research reference fashions, disassemble them, analyse materials behaviour – it’s a forensic course of’
Marie Schmidt
Regardless of the chair’s early acclaim (it was initially produced by Artifort), Gubi struggled to search out a lot documentation detailing its manufacture. The reference fashions the staff examined revealed delicate variations, pointing to a posh and largely guide, multistage manufacturing course of. ‘Our in-house staff basically works like furnishings detectives,’ explains Schmidt. ‘We research reference fashions, disassemble them, analyse materials behaviour – it’s a forensic course of. The purpose is at all times to stay as devoted to the designer’s authentic intent as potential, whereas making the piece viable for contemporary manufacturing.’
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The staff discovered that the unique was produced by means of a partly guide course of that they needed to reverse-engineer over two years – however the largest problem was discovering a viable different to fibreglass, a fabric dominated out from the outset resulting from its environmental drawbacks and restricted long-term sturdiness. A complete analysis journey adopted, exploring a variety of supplies and engineering strategies earlier than the staff settled on HiREK – a high-performance engineered polymer produced from industrial plastic waste. ‘We selected HiREK not just for its sustainability credentials, however as a result of it allowed us to duplicate the softness and precision of the unique,’ says Schmidt. ‘The end is super-smooth, and it holds the color by means of the fabric, so any small scratches gained’t compromise the looks over time.’
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The reissued ‘F300’ is produced by means of a tightly managed five-step course of. It begins with HiREK pellets, melted and injected into moulds to kind the seat, entrance leg and again leg – every engineered to bolster stress factors whereas preserving the chair’s light-weight, sculptural profile. As soon as moulded, they’re refined by hand – trimmed, smoothed utilizing specialised ceramic instruments, and rested for twenty-four hours to permit the thermoplastic to stabilise.
As soon as transferred to a second manufacturing facility, the parts are held in customized jigs to make sure exact alignment throughout meeting, whereas the thermoformed upholstery – a method borrowed from luxurious automotive interiors – ensures seamless ergonomics and luxury. Every chair is then subjected to rigorous hand-finishing and high quality management to make sure it meets each Gubi’s requirements and Paulin’s authentic imaginative and prescient.
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‘Balancing industrial precision with hand-finished high quality is what makes this mission so particular – and so technically demanding,’ Schmidt provides. ‘Every bit is refined by hand to realize the sort of seamless curves and reflective surfaces that Paulin envisioned. That was non-negotiable – we didn’t need the usage of trendy polymers to make the piece really feel scientific or mass-produced. The hand-finishing and detailed high quality management carry heat and character again into the method.’
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The ‘F300’ relaunch coincides with New York Design Week 2025 and Clerkenwell Design Week in London, supported by a marketing campaign that sees ten characters interacting with the chair in numerous methods. ‘We’ve leaned into its cult enchantment,’ says Schmidt of the advertising technique. ‘The marketing campaign nods to its futuristic roots, however we additionally wished to indicate how comfortably it belongs in a contemporary setting. It’s sculptural, sure – but in addition deeply ergonomic and constructed to final. That sort of relevance is what defines a real traditional.’
Supply: Wallpaper
