Armchair in thermoformed birch plywood, seat in bronze tweed.

Black plate under the seat and white label in Japanese characters.

The Lounge Chair was designed by architect Tange Kenzo for Tendo  Mokko, a highly influential furniture company established by woodworkers  in northern Japan in 1940. Amidst postwar rebuilding efforts and  expanding consumerism in the 1950s and 1960s, furniture makers like  Tendo Mokko produced and marketed a number of products for government,  corporate, and domestic clients. Tange was one of many architects who  collaborated with furniture manufacturers during this time to develop  pieces to complement their buildings’ interiors and create a total  aesthetic. This chair for the Sumi Memorial Hall in Aichi Prefecture is  made from moulded plywood. A single cut sheet is folded on three major  seams with bent armrests extending from the backrest. Along with a  version for the building’s auditorium (without the armrests) and an  elegant cantilevering table, Tange’s chair both mimics and complements  the formal and spatial qualities of the architecture at a smaller scale.