SORI YANAGI, 1954
OBJECT
The Butterfly Stool is an iconic design by Japanese master Sori Yanagi, one of the founders of post-war Japanese design and the son of philosopher Soetsu Yanagi (director of the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum and author of the renowned The Beauty of Everyday Things).
In addition to this stool, Yanagi is famous for his anonymous, high-quality design objects, especially for the kitchen, and for the Elephant Stool work stool, also produced by Vitra.
The Butterfly Stool is not only beautiful, it is also practical: its low height made it easily usable in Japanese interiors. Similarly, its simple assembly and the reduced number of parts made it easy to ship abroad, which was one of the reasons the Butterfly Stool became a success for exports. Besides Vitra, Tendo Mokko still produces the stool for the Japanese market.
BUTTERFLY STOOL: PROJECT AND REASEARCH
The Butterfly Stool is made up of two symmetrical plywood forms, each seven millimeters thick. They are constructed from seven layers of wood veneer, connected with two brass bolts and a stabilizing bar at the bottom.
Its visual simplicity does not conceal its technical sophistication. The project was of difficult execution, and it took the manufacturer Tendo Mokko several years to finalize the design and perfect the production process for mass producing the famous stool. This effort exemplifies the shared interest among Japanese designers and manufacturers in exploring the material capabilities of plywood, which was a new interesting material at the time.
CULTURAL IMPACT OF THE BUTTERFLY STOOL
The Butterfly Stool is considered a classic of 20th-century design. It won the Good Design Award shortly after its introduction and continues to be displayed in design museums around the world. It is appreciated not only for its aesthetics but also for its functionality and comfort.
The Butterfly Stool has had a significant impact on the field of furniture design, influencing numerous designers and demonstrating how industrial design can coexist with traditional culture, in this case, Japanese one.
This design piece made its international debut at the 1957 Milan Triennale, and by 1958, it was part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Today, it is included in numerous other collections worldwide, including the Vitra Design Museum.
SORI YANAGI
Sori Yanagi (1915-2011) was the most influential post-war Japanese designer, a key figure who introduced the concept of industrial design in Japan. He won numerous awards and recognitions for his Butterfly Stool and his beautiful kitchenware, which synthesize industrial design with organic Japanese forms.
VITRA
Vitra is a company founded in Switzerland in 1958 by Willi Fehlbaum, who fell in love with the design of Charles and Ray Eames during a trip to the USA. Since then, Vitra has distinguished itself with historic and contemporary design pieces of the highest quality, produced sustainably and with meticulous attention to detail. Vitra’s furniture and objects are manufactured in Europe, and its Swiss headquarters, along with the Vitra Design Museum, are a mecca for designers and architects.
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DETAILS
Vitra
The original version of the Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi, produced by Vitra, is available on Farfetch.com >
Dimensions of Butterfly Stool:
The Butterfly Stool is constructed with:
Seat: molded plywood in maple with a natural finish or Santos rosewood.
Finishes: brass.
