a cantilever chair the making of myto a project by basf kgid … · a project by basf kgid plank...

MYTO a cantilever chair the making of MYTO

a project by BASF

KGID

PLANK

Ludwigshafen / Munich / Ora

MYTO 06a canti lever chair MYTO a canti lever chair07

MYTO the making of

MYTO the making of

Published on the occasion of the presentation of MYTO, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan, 2008Published by BASF SE, 45990 Ludwigshafen, Germany, www.basf.com

KGID, 88567 Munich, Germany, www.konstantin-grcic.comPLANK, 30229 Ora, Italy, www.plank.it

Concept Design Editing Meiré und Meiré www.meireundmeire.de

Essay Interviews Petra Schmidt www.schmidt-fogelberg.de

Photo essays Viviane Sassen www.vivianesassen.com

Photo credits pp.01-05 / pp.10-11 / pp.17-24 Viviane Sassenpp.14-55 KGID p.62 KGID, BASF, PLANKpp.65,67,68 PLANK

Press credits ABITARE (I), No.476, October 2007, pp. 116-121, pp.277-278FORM (D), No. 218, January/February 2008, pp.62-68THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE (USA), 10 December 2007, p.10 MONITOR (RU), No.45, January 2008, pp. 3-6FORM (SE), No.218, January/February 2008, pp. 80-81

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Timeline21.- 22.06.06 BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany: BASF Universal Days workshop05.09.06 KGID, Munich, Germany: Anja Bakker and Thomas Fritzsche from BASF commission KGID

to design an application using the BASF material Ultradur® High Speed. Konstantin Grcic introduces the Italian furniture company PLANK into the project

26.09.06 BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany: first meeting with BASF/KGID/PLANK reviewing Ultradur®

material samples06.11.06 PLANK, Ora, Italy: meeting with machinery maker and injection moulding companyNovember 06 KGID, Munich, Germany: design phase08.12.06 KGID, Munich, Germany: general design direction found21.12.06 KGID, Munich, Germany: first foam models09.02.07 KGID, Munich, Germany: presentation of design concept to all partnersFebruary - June 07 BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany: dynamic and static stress analysis of the design concept

with help of computer-aided engineering (CAE)19.02.07 KGID, Munich, Germany: final direction of general shape15.03.07 KGID, Munich, Germany: 3-D data exchange starts with the mould maker,

study of seat patterns26.03.07 KGID, Munich, Germany: ultimate foam model, final ergonomics are determined26.04.07 KGID, Munich, Germany: design for seat patternApril - May 07 BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany: development of first Ultradur® High Speed materials for MYTO16.05.07 KGID, Munich, Germany: final 3-D data21.05.07 BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany: begin of mould flow analysis08.06.07 PLANK, Ora, Italy: first full-scale sinter model15.06.07 PLANK, Ora, Italy: final review on details, monitoring of the mould-making process03.-04.07.07 Frankenthal, Germany: BASF K-fair press conference, world première of MYTO29.08.07 Injection moulding company, Italy: first off-tool chairs19.09.07 PLANK, Ora, Italy: design revision27.09.07 KGID, Munich, Germany: design changes completed24.– 31.10.07 K-Fair, Düsseldorf, Germany:

MYTO is presented at the BASF stand at the world’s biggest plastic fairNovember 07 BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany: development of final Ultradur® High Speed material for MYTO07.02.08 KGID, Munich, Germany: decision on colours for MYTOFebruary 08 BASF, Schwarzheide, Germany: production of final material Ultradur® B4300 ZG6 High Speed03.03.08 Injection moulding company, Italy: pre-productionMarch 08 Mould maker, Italy: mould finish01.04.08 Injection moulding company, Italy: start of the production of MYTO16.– 21.04.08 Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan, Italy: market launch

The Point of Departure.

This documentationof the MYTO projectsheds light on the process of its creation, along withall of the differentphases, controversiesand problems as well as moments ofcreativity and joy.

“When you observeKonstantin Grcic atwork in his studioand see elegant,sculptural prototypesemerging from indus-trial raw materials, it becomes obvioushow closely relatedhis work is to asculptural process.At the same time,certain pop andfashion codes cannotbe overlooked. Seenfrom this perspective,his designs reflect the hybridity of our time.

MYTO highlights this moment, therebymarking a continuationof the tradition ofcantilevered classicsin a charismaticmanner. A similarattitude is alsodocumented in this publication. The aesthetic isderived from thevisual stages of three mutually interdependent pro-cesses: traces ofcreative discovery,the analytical,cryptic moment of

technical feasibility, and the revealingimpressions of thereality of industrialproduction.”Mike Meiré, ArtDirector, on theconcept of thispublication.

The development pro-cess is now complete. The production process is beginning.It was possible toengage the Dutchartist Viviane Sassenfor the photographicpremière. In the hyperbolicsnapshots charac-teristic of herstyle, she has setthe scene for thearrival of somethingspecial: MYTO.

MYTO a canti lever chair09MYTO 08a canti lever chair

Essay

Petra Schmidt

The cantilever chairhas had a greaterinfluence on moderndesign than anyother. Yet in recentyears, designershave tended to devotelittle attention toproducts of thistype. However, withthe advent of thecantilever chairMYTO, it is not only this typologythat returns to our everyday lives, but along with it a swinging way ofsitting. For over 200 yearsit has been possibleto rock back andforth on a chair and then come torest with a gentle,modulated bounce.Rocking chairs haveexisted for that long.Napoleon already hadone. And Americansettlers relaxed in them while recu-perating from theeffort of conqueringan entire continent.After the firsttubular steel canti-lever chair wascreated in the 1920s,however, a whole newfeeling in seatingwas discovered.Avantgarde designerscreated chairs thatmade it possible to rock nervously or bounce tensely: The swinging modern movement. As early as 1930,Albert Sigristexplained the newchair form and itsusers in his “Buchvom Bauen”: “It mightbe possible to saythat the only peoplewho feel comfortableon these chairs are those who havecome to consider theincessant, underlyingtension of modernlife, a sense ofmotion and velocitythat continues evenin a static state,

to be essential in defining theirexistence, to be a crucial componentof their feeling for life.”The cantilever chairrepresents like noother the cradle of modern design:the Bauhaus. Threeof the most famousBauhaus designers were involved in the development ofthe first tubularsteel, cantileverchair. While MartStam’s first proto-type (1926) wasintended to be aproof of his conceptand made of rigidgas pipes, MarcelBreuer and LudwigMies van der Roheset the chair inmotion between 1927and 1929 by usingmore flexible steeltubing. In the following years the cantilever chairattracted everyfamous designer,since it alwaysinvolved embarkinginto new territory,experimenting withmaterials, innovationand, of course, fameand recognition.Alvar Aalto createdhis famous cantileverlaminated woodchair, “No.31”,Gerrit Rietveld his“Zig-Zag Chair”, theCastiglioni brotherstheir tractor chair,“Mezzadro”, and nat-urally Verner Pantonhis colourful, sculp-tural monoblocks,simply called “PantonChairs”, which had a tremendousinfluence on designthroughout the 1960sand 1970s. In the1980s, Stiletto’s“Consumer’s Rest”,made from a revampedshopping cart, andShiro Kuramata’sairy, steel meshchair “Sing, Sing,

Sing” were added tothe list. However,in the early 1990s,with the reemergenceof Retro design,designers seem tohave run out of newideas. Everythingseemed to have beendone already, thedesign classics likethe “Panton Chair”were more popularthan ever before.Hence, this icon ofstyle was featuredagain on the coverof the British editionof “Vogue” in 1995,in a photo in whicha naked Kate Mosswas lounging on itbeing yet anothervery attractive star.It seemed as ifRetro and Pop werebeing equated with a new lifestyle.Hence, KonstantinGrcic felt “almostreckless” when hesuggested a canti-lever chair as ajoint project whenBASF asked him tobecome involved in acooperative ventureusing their engin-eering plasticUltradur® High Speed.“There was suddenlyso much leeway.” It is not surprisingthat everything seemed possible to Grcic. Most designers hadbeen particularlyreluctant to becomeinvolved with injection moulded, plastic monoblock,cantilever chairs inthe post-Panton era.The material wasconsidered difficult.Not only because itmeant being measuredagainst an icon ofstyle, the durabilityof plastic also continued to be aproblem for quitesome time. A new material likePBT (polybutyleneterephtalate), which

is the basis ofUltradur®, combinesgreat tensilestrength with thekind of high flowvelocity that wasnecessary to achievefinely modelledcross-sections.Grcic’s chair nowintroduced a newera, beyond thewell-worn path of Retro design.Finally we are seeing formal andtechnical innovations,new materials.Impulses of the kind that Bauhausdesigners incorpor-ated into theirwork. They alsoallowed themselvesto be inspired bythe new technologyof their day, thekind that was beingapplied to auto-mobiles, airplanesand bicycles. Thisis the tradition in which the MYTOchair, produced byPLANK in SouthernTyrol, follows. A distinguishedrepresentative ofits category. Thenew plastic chairopenly displays itsconstructive details,making full use ofthe possibilities of the new materialand presenting avariety of new formal approachesthrough its austere,technical languageof forms. It maygive rise to a newboom in plastics.Who knows? It hasalready had oneimportant effect:it has brought the swing back to modern seating.

Petra Schmidt,(born 1964) works as design consultantand freelance writer for variousmagazines such as“frame and art”, andshe is co-editor ofthe successful book“Patterns in Design,Art and Architecture”.She was editor-in-chief of the Germandesign magazine“form” from 1999until 2007. She firstjoined form in 1996as the editor of“form diskurs–Zeitschrift fürDesign und Theorie”.By profession adesign journalistshe studied mediastudies at FrankfurtUniversity and was a staff member ofvarious ad agencies.

MYTO In Full Swing

BASF

Thomas Fritzsche,who holds a degree in engineering, is a Business Manager at BASF. His group is responsible for Ultradur ®, a technical plast ic thatexhibits a high degree of tensi le strength and f lowabil i ty.

You produce plasticgranulates. Thatmeans piles of araw material with no particular shape.Why, then, are youinterested indesign?There are strategicreasons. We are nowvery well establishedin the electricaland automobile in-dustries, where weare even the marketleaders. That’s allwell and good, butthere is not muchmore that you can be beyond numberone. The “Sports,Furniture, Leisure” sector, on the otherhand, offers goodopportunities forgrowth. And while in other areas thepeople in charge ofconstruction decidewhat’s going to be done with the material, here thedesigners decidewhat’s going to beused. That’s why we invited variousdesigners to a workshop called“Universal Days”that we staged alongwith the GermanDesign Council. We wanted to lowerthe barriers betweendesigners, research-ers and constructiveengineers. With our backgrounds innatural sciences, we don’t speak thesame language asdesigners. We

talk about tablesand formulas. Designers want tosee components andfeel samples of the materials.

Were you the one who initiated theMYTO project?No, it developedgradually during a series of dis-cussions. After theworkshop, KonstantinGrcic called ourdesigner Anja Bakker.The discussioninitially led to a meeting in Munichand, finally, to a joint project.We all decided thatour objective was to present a chair,a real one, at theplastics trade fairK 2007. Not one ofthese new interiordesign visions thatyou only see inmagazines. We wantedto produce a realproduct that peoplecould actually buy. Since we onlyhad one year, we got to work rightaway. And it was a tremendous amount of work.

Is it really thatdifficult to designa cantilever chairmade of plastic?Most people wouldthink that itwouldn’t be a problem at all forBASF. Our special-ists, in particular,were sceptical. Experienced engineerscame to me and said: “Today, whileI was brushing myteeth, I estimatedyour parametersagain, and withthose dimensions and that weight, you can forget the whole thing.” Planning its con-struction was a tremendous challenge.

Why its construction?One often reads thatyou are able toensure the stabilityof a product bychanging the composition of theplastic. That meansthe end of “formfollows function” –designers now havetotal freedom.No, that view isunrealistic. Evenwhen dealing withplastics the formhas to follow thefunction. We can’t compensatefor everything that was neglected in planning the construction by simply changing thematerial. Manypeople go directlyfrom the designstage to having amould built only to discover laterthat their componentfractures. Afterhaving spent a lot ofmoney on the mould,they then come to usto complain. That’snot the way to doit. You first haveto eliminate all thetechnical problemson the constructivelevel. We havepeople who specialisein dealing withthese problems. We recommend thatcompanies and designers contact usat the preliminarystage.

Kurt Höfl i is the Headof Marketing forBASF’s EngineeringPlast ics in Europe.He paved the way forthe MYTO project .

It’s said that youalso have a personalinterest in design.Yes. That has some-thing to do with myfamily – my wife isa designer and mydaughter has just

completed a degreeprogramme in design.However, I am anengineer.

Then, of course, you view design andengineering as a suc-cessful combination. As long as form follows function, I think design is wonderful. I don’t like fancycreations and excessive formalexperimentation.Even with MYTO wehad to work forquite a while beforeform and functionreally harmonisedwith each other. For example, thechair initiallyswung from side toside instead ofbouncing up anddown. This problemcould only be solvedthrough the geometry.A designer has to be willing to learnfrom engineers in such cases.Konstantin Grcic has no inhibitionsin this regard.

What does thehome of a plasticsengineer with anaffinity for designlook like?A dining table withany number of plasticchairs groupedaround it?You’re not far offthe mark. About fifteen yearsago, a “Society forthe Development ofPlastic Recycling”was established topromote the recyclingof plastics. In this context thedesigners Bär & Knellcreated various pieces of furniture.I still have four of their chairs andthe matching table.

Also cantileverchairs in plastic?

No. Up until nowthere was only the“Panton Chair”, andperhaps a fewcopies. The topicwas neglected foryears, it was consi-dered too difficultfor technical reasons, since theplastic has to be both rigid and flexible. The first “PantonChair” was made ofpolyester resin,this material issmeared into a formand then reinforcedwhere necessary.Surfboards and shipsare made of the samematerial. Basically,it’s craftsmanship.Problems only arisewhen you go over toinjection mouldingand then to massproduction. When theplastic is injectedinto a mould, youcan’t put the fibre-glass in the placeswhere it’s neededfor support.

But now that’spossible?Ultradur® High Speedis a technical plastic. It has nothing to do withplastic bags orother disposableproducts. It isextremely durableand can withstandhigh temperatures.That’s why there areso many applicationsfor it under thebonnet of your car, for examplefuse boxes. And now we’re exploring more newapplications forthis high-tech material.

But isn’t it unusualfor a big companylike BASF to launchsuch a small project?No, not at all.Ultradur® High Speedis a so-called PBT.


Interviews

Petra Schmidt in conversation with:

Thomas Fritzsche and Kurt Höfl i ,BASF

Konstantin Grcic and Alexander Löhr,KGID

Michael Plank, Martin Plank and Peter Gruber,PLANK

MYTO the making of


entirely differentway. It has to havea little bounce.Of course we put alot of thought intoit and experimentedwith the plastic.People aren’t usedto sitting on canti-lever chairs anymore. That’s why we were surprised bythe great feeling ofsitting on it whenthe first chairscame out of themould. You couldfeel the elasticityof the material, how flexible it was.

I’m surprised youdon’t have a “PantonChair” in youroffice. There are so many chairs here,including many clas-sics. But the chairwith which MYTO isoften compared isnowhere to be found.Towards the end ofthe project we didin fact borrow one.At that point wewere interested inthe size. But thefundamental concepton which it’s basedis entirely differ-ent: you sit in a shell, and it’squite stiff. It isinteresting to seeto what extend the“Panton Chair” tookover the field ofcantilever chairs.Ultimately, no onedared to address the topic again for decades.

PLANK

The PLANK FurnitureCompany has been inbusiness for four generations, and i t hasundergone majorchanges s ince i t wasestabl ished in 1893:from a craft-orientatedworkshop to a factory

and, finally, to a modernindustrial company.Today i t is run byMartin Plank, the father, and MichaelPlank, the son.

Up until the 1990s,your company inNorthern Italy wasstill producing the typical beerhallchairs for localpubs. Now you producefurniture made ofinnovative materialsuch as plasticin cutting edgedesigns. How didsuch a fundamentalreorientation comeabout? Martin Plank: That’strue, we producedthose typical “alpine chairs” withsix spindles, thekind you find every-where in that region. But then the marketchanged and therewasn’t much demandfor the style andthe way they wereproduced anymore. So we made a reallyradical decision in the 1990s and revamped the entirecompany, beginningwith the products.

But why the orienta-tion towards design?Martin Plank: My son Michael studieddesign along withbusiness administra-tion. That determinedthe direction wetook. Michael Plank: In the beginningthere was a lot of“experimentation”.Every designer whocontacted us wasinvited to a personalinterview. We produced countlessprototypes and models.There was a real senseof a new beginning.

Did that lead tosuccess?Michael Plank: No.We soon realised that

the only way to finda market is to clearlydefine the directionyou’re taking.Design only offersstrategic advantageswhen you put allyour effort into thedevelopment of aproduct and whenyou’re really innovative – thatalso makes it harder to copy.

What did you learnwhile working onMYTO?Martin Plank: Theinteraction withKonstantin Grcic,his team and BASFwas really inter-esting. Comparingdetails, taking apassionate stand onideas. Konstantincalls it “playingping-pong”. Beinginvolved in thiskind of exchange is the only way tomake progress whendeveloping a product.You often see furniture companieshiring a famous de-signer, and produc-ing a prototype, toshow off at a tradefair, but then thedesign ends up insome drawer and isnever seen again.That’s not how weoperate. We don’twant to use designerslike that, and,besides, we’re notin a financial posi-tion where we couldafford to. Wheneverwe have sold oursouls to an idea, we go ahead with theproject, and in theend we’re successful,thanks to the helpof everyone involved.

Plank has its rootsin the wood industry.How did you get yourmind set on thechallenges of theplastics industry?Michael Plank: Our

background in wood-working has actuallybeen an advantage in keeping our mindsclear. If you havetechnical understand-ing and you put outyour antennas, thenyou can also handlea project like MYTO.

Peter Gruber works as product developerat PLANK in Ora andgave the key impulsein naming MYTO.It al l goes back to hischi ldhood dream: a redmotorcycle.

It’s said that thename MYTO came to youin a dream. Is thattrue?Searching for a nameis always difficult,because there are so many chairs and,naturally, so manynames. That’s why we started with itat an early stage. The recommendationswent back and forth between PLANK andGrcic’s office.After all, the namewas supposed to high-light the fact thatthis chair was special– a kind of dream.

Did you really comeup with the name inyour sleep?No. One evening, onmy way home, I wasthinking about allthe requirements thename had to fulfil.Suddenly Mito poppedinto my mind. Andwith it the image of the motorcycle:the Cagiva Mito. The dream of myyouth. The next morning I suggestedit as a possiblename for the chair.Everyone was just as excited as I was.We then took thedevelopment a stepfurther and introduced

the “Y”. This markedthe beginning.

What was the motor-cycle like? A streetbike with125cc. When we wereteenagers it wasspecial because youcould ride one assoon as you turnedsixteen. That usedto be common inItaly. Of course all fifteen-year-olds were waitingimpatiently for the day when theyfinally had the permission to drive.The Cagiva Mito wasthe symbol for that.

Is the name anindication of thechair’s sportyappearance?To some extend, yes. The renderingswere also originallyred. The Mito of mydreams was alwaysred. And in much the same way thisproject with thechair was like adream to me. Now, the way thingslook, the chair maysoon end up in amuseum like the MoMACollection. That’s also part of the MYTO myth,and it makes meproud. After all, I contributed to it.

Did you ever actuallyhave a red CagivaMito?Unfortunately not.It always remained a dream. I alwayshad a Honda, butwhen my daughterNastiya was born, I sold the motorcycle,but just the motor-cycle, not the helmetand the gear, because– you never know.

We lead the marketin this field. And the market leadermust encourage inno-vation, otherwisethe lead can beeasily lost. That’swhat we we’re doinghere.

Might MYTO leadto something likea Renaissance inplastic furniture?I don’t think so.The wave of plasticin Panton’s day hadsomething to do withthe newness of thematerial. Everythingseemed possible.Those days are gone.

KGID

The German KonstantinGrcic is currently oneof the most importantdesigners worldwide.In his off ice in Munichhe designs furnitureand exhibit ions as wellas household appliancesand l ighting.

Mr Grcic, let’s startat the beginning –the name MYTO. Itsounds like mythos.Did this self-assureddecision seem likean omen or a burdento you?Only afterwards werealised how profoundthe name actuallywas. But then itultimately became an omen – a goodone. The projectitself became some-how mythic as timeprogressed, however,that was never ourintention.

Really?Something like thatcan’t be planned.Nevertheless, we hadto be very convincedof the name, sincemaking a false claim with “myth”

would have been disastrous.

Looking at thechair, one getsthe impression thatyou have found awhole new directionin terms of design:from the crystallineforms found inchair_ONE towardsa more austere andtechnical languageof form.MYTO is, above all,one thing for me: a whole new phase in our work withinjection moulding.In comparison to thetechniques commonlyused in the furnitureindustry like woodand metal, I find ittremendously liber-ating. It is poss-ible to shape formsmore precisely, towork with changingthicknesses and sections. Neverthe-less, this chair –like many of my otherdesigns – has a lotto do with construc-tion. In contrast tothe “Panton Chair”,my project has aclearly definedframework that canbe understood atfirst glance. Themuscles that supportthe structure areeasily recognisable.

Flowing lines and yetstill constructive.Isn’t that a contra-diction?What I like aboutthis chair is thatit has found its ownlanguage. Of coursethat also includescontradictions andrapture. That’s typical of my work. I was neverinterested in perfectform.

Does that meanthere was never anykind of caesura?If a caesura means

having to startanew, then no. All of my work isinterrelated. Whenwe’re working on abarstool like MIURA,we find many moreapproaches to thatkind of project than we could everrealise and the nextobject benefits fromit. It is correct to say that we haveentered a new terrainwith MYTO, one I hadno experience withpreviously. What Imean, specifically,is the process ofcreating organicforms, the kind thatyou know only fromsports equipment andcars. I have alwaysfancied this type of “product design”,but have rarely had the opportunityto work with it upuntil now.

Doesn’t this newfreedom lead tosomewhat arbitraryresults?No, not arbitrary.Some of the thingsthat we’ve now beenable to realise wereindeed the result of a certain reck-lessness. Given myexperience withplastic, the frame-work and the meshfor the seat seemedinteresting to me.As a result, I endedup pushing the spe-cialists from BASFto their limits. The realisation wasfar more difficultthan I imagined.Nevertheless, it wasright to approach itin such an uninhib-ited manner: it wasthe only way for usto arrive at suchnew and innovativesolutions.

In this project, youplayed an importantrole as a manager.

After entering intocooperation withBASF, you went outand found a manufac-turer, took chargeof public relations,planned the presen-tation at theTriennale in Milan,and did much more.Are you interestedin playing this kindof role more oftenin the future? I learned my lessonsa long time ago. In the meantime, I’mquite familiar withvarious relationshipsand mechanisms indesign and in thefurniture industry,and I can get thingsmoving. Nevertheless,I would still notclaim to have “man-aged” the project. My work as a designeralways comes first.All those thingsyou’ve been talkingabout are also partof the job descrip-tion for a designernowadays.

Alexander Löhr is product designer inKonstantin Grcic’soff ice and was in charge of developingMYTO.

I have the impressionthat in developingMYTO you andKonstantin Grcichave discovered anew vocabulary offorms. Exactly. It was acase of personaldevelopment. At themoment, there are alot of cubic designsand folded surfaces.We needed to get outof that corner.

Konstantin Grcic be-lieves that the formresults more fromthe material and theprocess. That’s true. I have

been working forKonstantin for sevenyears now. Many ofour planar forms, as seen on the sofa CHAOS or thechair_ONE, were inpart a consequenceof the cardboard weused in modelmaking.This time we workedwith an entirelydifferent material.It was a perforated,flexible mesh.Obviously, the meshis bound to resultin more pliant formsthan cardboard. Now-adays we use full-scale foam models andinvolve the computerat an earlier stage.Due to a greater useof the possibilitiesof 3-D software, weare able to achievemore precise andcomplex designs.

How do you designa comfortable chair?Are there any stan-dards you can applyto your work?It’s better not topay too much atten-tion to standards,that way you’re lessconstrained in yourapproach. Later, whenworking on the foammodels, there isstill plenty of timeto test the comfort.

Are there anystandards? Is theresomething like aGolden Section?One rule we appliedis that the angle ofthe backrest shouldcome to 102 degrees.Konstantin has hisown ideas about com-fort and ergonomics.Martin Plank is usually responsiblefor those details.He has his measurablestandards and hisGolden Section.

But a cantileverchair has to be comfortable in an

MYTO 16a canti lever chair

Photography Viviane Sassen

MYTO a canti lever chair

MYTO a canti lever chair25

Viviane Sassen isespecially remarkablewhen it comes tocombining a varietyof photographic genres, either nextto or right on topof each other.

Within this widediversity ofapproaches and choices of subjectmatter, her mostnotable quality is a sublime feelingfor form, colour,

structure and volume.Although Vivianewould never callherself a fashionphotographer, muchof her work findsits origins infashion.

She clearly leanstoward a graphic and hyperstylisedform of photographyand makes use of a varied palette ofpossibilities.

Viviane Sassen was born 1972 inAmsterdam.


BASFDesigning Materials and Applications

05.09.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

Following a first encounter at the Universal Days in 2006, BASF commissions Konstantin Grcic to design an application using the BASF material PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), known as Ultradur® High Speed. It is mainly used in the automotive industry, and BASF is aiming to promote its qualities in new markets. Konstantin Grcic proposes straight away to develope a chair and introduces the Italian furniture company PLANK into the project.

MYTO the making of

04.09.2007

BASFLudwigshafen,Germany

The first off-tool chairsare tested at the BASF laboratories.


BASF contributes thorough engineering support to the project development.

Data gained from structural computer analysis, mould flow simulations and material testing allow the in-house engineering team to adjust the material according the static requirements of the cantilever chair.

The construction of MYTO is based on a structural frame.

Like a tree the material is thicker around the base where the chair needsfull strength while thinner material branches out to less critical areas.

Injection moulding allows for the gradiant cross-sections.


Dynamic and static stress analyses give clear indications of the performance of the design in each phase.

The fast exchange of 3-D computer data between the three partners is essential to the MYTO project.

It speeds up the process by enabling the simultaneous development ofengineering and design.

The stacking is precisely determined on the computer.


16.02.2007

KGID, Munich, Germany

Printed patterns are patchworked onto a cardboard model.

(right)

13.11.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

The laser-sinter model on the right showsthe transparency of the final perforation.

09.02.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

The production engineer explains the position of the chair inside the mould.


23.10.2007

K-fairDüsseldorf, Germany

MYTO is proudly presented at the BASF stand at the world’s biggest plastics trade fair.

Only eleven months elapse between the first meeting and the première of MYTO.

09.02.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

Thomas Fritzsche (left) Business Unit Manager of EngineeringPlastics with Konstantin Grcic.

The team’s shared passion and enthusiasm play an essential role in achieving the ambitious goal.

03.04.2007

mould makerItaly

Tsung-Chieh Cheng (right) showing the injection points to Alexander Löhr(KGID).

18.09.2007

BASFLudwigshafen, Germany

Kurt Höfli, Director Marketing Engineering Plastics analysing a productionsample together with Andreas Eipper and Mark Völkel.

20.02.2007


Ulrich Endemann (right), Head of Application Engineering and Tsung-ChiehCheng (left) are responsible for the computer analysis and mould flow simulations. 06.11.2006

machinery makerItaly

Anja Bakker (left), initiator of the BASF Universal Days workshop, presents the concept of collaboration between the three partnersBASF (material & engineering support), KGID (design) and PLANK (production & distribution).

This meeting marks the point of departure with a year of challenge ahead.


18.09.2007


MYTO is subjected to a series of tests at the BASF laboratories.

In this case the chair withstands a heavy load dropping from a height of three metres.

30.08.2007

production site Italy

The first off-toolchair is loaded withbags of the newly developed grade ofUltradur® High Speed.


KGIDDesigning Form

MYTO the making of


15.11.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

14.11.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

The black tape marks a supporting framework on the mesh.

The interplay between a solid frame and a perforated surface is to become the basis for the design of MYTO.

06.12.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

Konstantin Grcic and his assistantAlexander Löhr (top left) are making firstmodels out of perforated aluminiummesh.

The material is a key factor in thedesign process.

It is easy to manipulate by hand and therefore allowsthree-dimensional forms to be sketched.


23.01.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

A quick mock-up made of cut up furniture parts gives a first impression of a plastic cantilever chair.

19.12.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

Red tape is applied onto the fragilemodel in order to translate its geometry into 3-D computer data.

15.12.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

The lightness of the aluminium mesh influences the characteristics of the final design.

13.12.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

Konstantin Grcic modelling withwire on an ergonomic rig.

08.12.2006

KGIDMunich, Germany

An early model of a cantilever frame represents a significant point in the design process. Later it will give MYTO its most dominant characteristic.


14.03.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

The initial concepts for the seat structure range from asymmetrical lines

(left) to a wicker like pattern

(right).

25.04.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

Konstantin Grcic working on the final grid which is ultimately determined by the flow characteristics of the material Ultradur® High Speed and the movement of the tool.

Konstantin Grcic and Alexander Löhr are playing through various designs on 1:1 print-outs using adhesive tapes and markers.


19.01.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

Various model-making techniques are used during the designprocess. While the aluminium mesh is best for first sketchmock-ups, polystyrene foam models are strong enough to check the seating comfort.

Rapid protoyping technologies such as laser sintering reproduce the precise 3-D geometry of the computer data.

30.01.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

Martin Plank and Konstantin Grcic discussingone of the first wire and cardboard models.

11.06.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

Adjustments are made on a 1:1 laser-sinter model.


PLANKDesigning Production

15.06.2007

mould maker, Italy

The model helps to point out problems of moulding constraints. Konstantin Grcic and Martin Plank in discussion with the engineer, responsible for the construction of the tool.

14.06.2007

PLANKOra, Italy

Michael Plank pointing out subtle corrections made to the frame.

14.06.2007

PLANKOra, Italy

Peter Gruber sitting on a propped-up laser-sinter model.

MYTO the making of


23.10.2007

KGIDMunich, Germany

(from left to right) Konstantin Grcic, Martin Plank, Biagio Cisotti and Michael Plank discussing ultimate details.

06.09.2007

PLANKOra, Italy

Stackability is a key requirement from the beginning.

19.09.2007

PLANKOra, Italy

Handwritten markings by the production engineer specify the different materialcompositions tested by BASF.


29.08.2007

production siteItaly

The mould is lifted into the injection machine to run preliminary trials.

(right)

29.08.2007

production site Italy

The machine opens to reveal on one of the first MYTO chairs from production.

(left)

29.08.2007

production siteItaly

The first batch of MYTO chairs is critically assessed.


19.09.2007

PLANKOra, Italy

The first production series is set up at the PLANK warehouse.Comfort and stability tests now determine the final composition of the Ultradur® High Speed.

After one year of working on models, thechair has finally become a real product.


In the end it allcomes down to threeminutes. Three minutes be-tween the closingand reopening of thesecurity doors of aninjection mouldingmachine. Just threeminutes to unite the two mono blocksand press the hotliquid plastic intothe mould. Three minutes foreach new MYTO chairto be born.While a technicianis taking out onechair after anotherto place them intotemplates for cooling, a group of reassured men isproudly twisting andturning the firstprototypes of thisnew cantileverchair, completelymade of plastic. We are in the hall of the injection machineproducers, with the technicalexperts and BASF,the chemical companyresponsible forengineering plastics,along with furnituremanufacturers Plankand designerKostantin Grcic, to witness the firstresults of thedesign process for a new everyday icon. In the late summerof 2006 the membersof this group agreedon an one-year projectfor a cantileverchair, based on thepractical propertiesand creative poten-

tiality of theUltradur® High Speedplastic, normallyused in the automobileindustry. “The possibilitiesare endless in chairdesign, and so arethe difficulties intrying not to repeatoneself. To narrowdown the field, westarted from thepromising character-istics of the mater-ial and took up the challenge of notonly designing anumpteenth plasticchair but instead anew kind of plasticcantilever chair”,recalls KonstantinGrcic, amazed thatthey actually pulledit off in such ashort time. For Martin Plank, a central figure inthe putting togetherof this groupeffort: “Time wasthe major factor.Decisions could betaken on the spotbecause we trustedeach other’s ability.And more than oncethis pushed thedesign to a newlevel”. Along with the choice of material,the type of chairand the varioustools used for manu-facture the conceptof one-piece produc-tion also had amajor influence onthe final design ofthe MYTO. The chairhad to be formed as one continuousframe, resulting in

a dynamic shape witha unique transitionfrom a thick to athin cross-section. Thick: where thestructure has to bestrengthened, likethe two most crucialload-bearing partsat the upper andlower joints of thelegs. Thin: as withthe seat and back-rest to create alight and cantileverexperience when sitting.

To achieve the finalshape, the designprocess has been a see-saw betweencomputer animationsand various full-scale models builtin wire, foam andscrap from otherfurniture.Each of these modelsdeveloped a differentaspect of the chair,starting with firstconceptual sitters,over form and staticanalysis to the finaldetailed mock-ups onmolding seam-lines. Special attentionwas given to theperforation of theseat, which, withits slight upwardbulge, extendssmoothly into thebackrest. This net-like pattern underwentnumerous changes as it developed fromfree-flowing psyche-delic motifs to itsfinal symmetricalstructure: “At one point theexperiments on

various types ofperforations came to an abrupt halt.We realized that themachine could notguarantee the idealflow of the heatedplastic throughoutthe chair and especially to thethinnest parts ofthe net, as it tends to cool downand harden beforereaching the furthestpoint of the mould.” In order to overcomethese technicallimits, Grcic had to reinforce thegrid reducing thesize of perforation.Despite the additionalweight, the MYTO hasretained its slimand light appearanceand can still beeasily stacked.Chair design is all about balance, especially in thecase of a cantileverchair. Volume incombination withdecorative perfor-ation is central tothe final shape ofthe object, but theright balance mustbe struck betweensolidity and flexi-bility in order tocreate comfort without losing thechair’s springynature. All thesequestions, are currently undergoingfine tuning. Once all the ingre-dients come togetherproperly, MYTO willbecome the nextpiece in the seriesof cantilever icons.

ABITARE (I)No. 476, October 2007, pp.116-121, pp.277-278

How to give birth to a chair : the story of MYTO by Konstantin Grcic by Anniina Koivu

Ever since VernerPanton, no otherdesigner has riskedmaking a cantileverchair out of plastic– until, now, a completely newmaterial has made it possible, namely,polybutylene tereph-thalate. KonstantinGrcic has formed aswaying chair fromthe BASF plastic,enriched with nano-particles, whichcould go down indesign history.

One form, one material, one cast. The MYTO chair isbuilt as a singleblock. Its stableframe merges into a net-like backrestand seat which merges with thebody. No wonder that the eyes firstperceive the chair,glide over prominentedges, soft supports, and tracethe transitions.Actually, saysKonstantin Grcic,the design came tobe from a smallmisunderstanding,from the false estimation that thematerial can be both soft and hardat the same time.Although the chem-ists at BASF immedi-ately cleared upthis mistake, thedesire remained tograsp these oppositesas productive ten-sion. The backrest,stretched out like a cushion, arches

toward the body. Theframe forms an elas-tic backbone. MYTOstays in motion.Polybutylene tereph-thalate (PBT) is thename of the materialwhich is used aboveall in the auto-mobile industry andwhich BASF marketsas Ultradur® HighSpeed. The chemicalsgiant on the Rhinehas developed a particularly fluidtechnical plasticwith it, to whichnanoparticles lendspecial properties.It combines firmnessand high fluidity inprocessing and givesdesigners completelynew possibilities to choose the cross-sections of theirobjects freely andto combine thick andthin cross-sectionsin soft lines. The quickly fluidmaterial can be usedto create free for-mal transitions ininjection molding,and at the same time you save mass. How did the designcome about? In thebeginning there was a BASF workshop.Four designers, June2006 in Ludwigshafen. The chemicals giant wanted somethingtangible, ideasabout how their owntechnical plastics,the “Ultra-s”, canshow their strengthsvividly. Instead ofpraising propertieslike firmness andheat-moldability

only in the techni-cal leaflet, products should beconvincing.Afterwards, BASFinitially appearedas the only client.The goal was to pavethe way for thematerial’s successoutside the autoworld. Not only as aprototype, but alsoin mass-produceditems. The choice ofobject and industrialpartner was forGrcic to make, whichmeant: “if, then a chair.” And if a chair, then itsmost ambitious form,the cantilever. Made of plastic!After having takenthis decision Grcicimmediately sensed“liberation, indeedclose to light-headedness,” or sohe recalls. He hadtaken on a challengethat all his col-leagues had failedto address downthrough the decades.In order to counterthe mixture of com-plexity, intensityand time pressures,he included thematerials manufac-turer, the producer,the toolkmaker andthe machine builderson the team. In theform of Italian com-pany Plank, who hadalready produced hisMiura bar stool forhim, and BASF, hehad two partners whoclearly were willingto learn from eachother. And together

they pressed thepedal to the floor.Three days beforeChristmas the firstmodel was complete,and less than twomonths later Grcicand his assistantAlexander Löhr pre-sented the design to the team, whereit was greeted withastonishment andeuphoria. The mater-ial progresses fromcardboard and wiremesh to polystyrene.You could admittedlysit on the milledblock, but the modelwas still supportedby a solid core.This was not yet thecantilever by anymeans. The latermesh for the back-rest was simulatedby layers of blackinsulating cable.The chair was coveredin patterns. Overlyornamental? Overlydramatic? The designremained in flux,was digitalized.Engineers at BASFshowed on-screenwhere material neededto be strengthenedand where even athinner wall waspossible. In May2007, MYTO progressedfrom PC to rapid-prototyping modeland the sinteredchair took on form.The maker of thefinal tooling wasnow also on board.Swiftness and teamspirit moved thedesign processalong, eliminatingseveral barriers at

once. It celebrateda new and intenselinkage of manufac-turer, designer andmaterials producer,bundling their differing areas ofexpertise. Much wasachieved in parallel,and Grcic speaks of the “fruitfulflow of informationand experience”. When Günter Grassphilosophized aboutprogress, which hefelt moved at asnail’s pace, he hadsociety and historyin mind, not design.Yet even in theself-proclaimed homecountry of innovation,much moves far tooslowly. Sometimes,however, veritableexplosions are to bewitnessed. Functionfollows innovationowing to the natureof the material. “I hope that othercompanies are encouraged to optfor similar partner-ships to handle morecomplex projects,”suggests Grcic. He has gained a unique experiencewith plastic: While he previouslyresponded to problemsregarding the ma-terials by alteringthe structures, nowit was the materialitself that gotaltered. Suddenlythere was a chemistwho expanded thematerial’s propertiesby adding something.“Now these arescientists,” Grcic

FORM (D)No. 218, January/February 2008, pp.62-68

Grcic swings!by Oliver Herwig


LONDON - As everydesigner with asmidgeon of conscienceknows, in an environ-mental crisis whenwe’re awash withmore stuff than weneed or want, youshouldn’t even consider creatinganother new objectunless you’re surethat it’s necessary.And one object thatseems doomed to failthat test is thechair.

Why? Because thereare way too many ofthem already. Thinkof the millions ofcheap plastic chairsswamping shoppingmalls, and landfillsites. Or of theexpensive ones beingflogged for thousandsof dollars at auction.Ever since PhilippeStarck swamped the1980s design mediaby turning the chairinto a wobbly post-modernist joke,young designers andmanufacturers havetried to make theirnames by dreaming upyet more (hopefully)photogenic chairs.Yet every so often a new chair comesalong that confounds

the cynics by provingits worth. The latestcontender is theMYTO, a plasticchair, which isstrong, comfortable,light, stackable,compact and comes in a coolly angularshape that is madefrom a single pieceof plastic using(eco-responsibly, ofcourse) the minimummaterial possible.In short, it’s justabout everything anew chair should be.

Every designer longsto produce a chairlike it, but to doso they would face a grueling battleagainst the laws ofphysics. And theywould probably lose,because the odds ofstriking a balancebetween strength andstability, withlightness and stack-ability, would beweighted so heavilyagainst them.

The MYTO’s designer,Konstantin Grcic,was given the chanceto change the oddswhen the German chemical companyBASF invited him tocreate a new product

from Ultradur® HighSpeed, an advancedplastic usually usedby the automotiveindustry. Grcic, a softly spokenGerman who is one of Europe’s mostinfluential productdesigners, decidedat once to make achair. “They’vewritten designhistory,” he said.Grcic has designedmany chairs over theyears, but had neverdared to attempt themost challengingtype of all: a cantilever chairwith no back legsthat’s supported byits own structure.

Cantilever chairsare shrouded bymodernist mystique,as so few have beenmade, and the bestknown examples areamong the mostfamous designs ofthe 20th century,like Marcel Breuer’s1920s tubular steelchairs, VernerPanton’s sexy 1960splastic chair. “It’s a no-go area,because it is theicon of modern furniture design,”said Grcic.

Iconography apart,there are sensibletechnical reasons toavoid those chairs,not least as it isso difficult to makecantilever chairsstable enough tosupport themselves,especially if youwant them to belight and stackabletoo. But Grcic wasconvinced thatBASF’s plastic wouldenable him to crackthe challenge.“Ultradur® is amaster material, and BASF’s chemistscan change the formulato make it very strongor very flexible,” heexplained. “You needboth properties in acantilever chair,Ultradur® can be madeextremely robust,but also very fluid.When it’s shot intothe mold, it’s likethe difference be-tween pouring honeyand water. Waterflows much fasterand can go into thethinnest parts ofthe mold where honeywould clog up.”Grcic began the project, as he doesall of his commissions,by imagining how thefinished object will

be used, and vis-ualizing its shape.He then made a modelfrom paper. Hismodels look clumsy -like something froma kids’ creativityclass - but Grcicfinds that workingwith his hands isthe most effectiveway of thinkingthrough the design.It also ensures thatthe finished objectwill look bothinstinctive anddistinctive becauseit was literallyshaped by his hands.

Once the model wasfinished, its dimensions wereuploaded into a computer at hisMunich studio, andthe final structurefinessed by designsoftware, which predicted how muchmaterial is neededto achieve thestrength and flexibility requiredfor each part of theobject. For the MYTO, Grcicconducted simulationtests using BASF’ssoftware too.

There is often ajolie laide quality

THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE(USA)10 December 2007, p. 10

A canti lever chair wins a Physical batt leby Alice Rawsthorn

says, “who can turnwishes into a formula.”A material thatideally goes throughthick and thin.

Does he now want to do other things with polybutyleneterephthalate? “Mymind is still in

the last project,”he confesses, “myfirst contact withthe material, meaningI am probably

inwardly not readyto repeat the riskand adventure.Ultradur® and canti-lever were the

perfect combination.”Now that’s the sound of design when you get thechemistry right.

to Grcic’s products,which look oddlygawky at firstsight, but then growon you. The MYTO isno exception. Grcicwanted it to seemlight and supple,with a perforatedseat and back. “The perforationslook quite like ananimal skin, and thechair has a reptilianquality with a preciseoutline and roundish,but tense surfaces,”he said. “Sometimesanimals assume thatposition whenthey’re ready topounce.”

To manufacture thechair, Grcic chosePlank, a furniture

company in theDolomites, with whomhe had worked before,and a veteranItalian mould maker.BASF’s chemists cameto all of the testsin the factory.“There were two verydifferent schools ofthought at work,”recalled Grcic.“German academicthinking, versushands-on Italianengineering, veryprofessional, butready to improvise.”

Both skill sets wereneeded because Grcichad been overlyambitious in hisdesign. To create a stable cantileverstructure, the plas-

tic had to be bothvery strong and veryflexible, but it hadbeen formulated tobe one or the other.The BASF team madeup 15 different versions before finding the mix thatworked best in testsat the mould-makingfactory.

“You use all thissoftware but, in theend, when you get achair out of a moldand sit on it, itseems completelydifferent,” saidGrcic. “With a cantilever chairit’s even more difficult to predicthow it will perform,because the tests

are designed forfour-legged chairsthat behave com-pletely differently.”

Grcic was lucky.When a chair flunksa test, the designerusually has tochange the shape,but for the MYTO,the chemists tinkeredwith the chemicalcomposition of theplastic to find theright formula. A prototype of theMYTO was unveiled at a plastic fair in Düsseldorf inOctober. It is nowbeing finessed, andthe first productionmodels are to belaunched at theMilan Furniture Fair

in April alongsideall of the hundredsof other new chairs.

(Alice Rawsthorn,architecture anddesign columnist for“The InternationalHerald Tribune”, isthe former directorof the Design Museumin London.)

© 2008Alice RawsthornDistributed by The New York TimesSyndicate

Inviting KonstantinGrcic to create anobject that couldfully reveal thepotential of theUltradur® High Speedplastic, BASF had a big idea of pro-posing their productto the internationaldesign market. The material is successfully used in the automotiveindustry, yet BASFare confident thatwith High Speed onecan go further thanheadlights or engineparts. The productcategory was notdefined; the onlyrequirement was to design an objectallowing people toreally experience

the material. Grcic suggested achair — an ultimatestructural challengeand one of the mostvisible consumerproducts. Comparedto other plasticsknown to the furnitureindustry, High Speedhas an exceptionalmechanical strength.As a plastic used in the car industry,it is resistant tothe most extremeclimates. Formed byinjection moulding,the material boastsa high flowability.“Imagine a differencebetween injectinghoney and water,”explains Grcic. “The honey is slowand won’t fill the

smallest gaps, whilethe water will flowvery fast into allareas. High Speed isanalog to water, soyou can do somethingvery fine and small-scale, and at thesame time somethingquite big. The mostcommonly used plasticin the furnitureindustry is polypro-pylene, a beautifulmaterial with itsown qualities andpredictable limita-tions. I was interested in working with amaterial that hadtotally differentcapabilities, inbuilding a structurethat we couldn’tmake with other

plastics.” Optingfor a cantileverchair, Grcic had in mind its iconicstatus in moderndesign: “Think ofthose by Breuer and Mart Stam, madepossible when steelhas become strongenough. Later onthere was Rietveld’swooden Zigzag, thenthe Panton chair in1968, originallymade of a compositeplastic with a core.Ever since the Pantonchair there havebeen no attempts tomake a cantileverchair in plastic.”

First discussionstook place inSeptember ’06; the

chair had to beexhibited in oneyear at the K 2007plastics fair inDuesseldorf. SinceBASF wanted a realcommercial product,Grcic called forItalian manufacturerPlank (for whom hehad earlier designedthe Miura stool) anda mould maker who, inhis turn, brought ina company to producethe machine on whichthe tool should beinstalled. The tightschedule demanded atruly efficient useof time. All playerswere involved in theprocess right fromthe start; expertsin engineering andchemistry were there

MONITOR (RU)No. 45, January 2008, pp. 3–6

by Anna Yudina


It is chairs thatwrite history. Three participantsin a record-fastprocess with a unique result. Soon the Milan fairwill be playing afanfare for the MYTOchair, a joint ventureby Konstantin Grcic,Plank and BASF.

“MYTO is my twenty-first chair and probably the mostunique,” saysKonstantin Grcic.“The combination ofprocess, design, andseating experiencewas incrediblyinspiring.”The chair, whichwill doubtless be atopic of conversationat this spring’s

Milan fair, is undeniably unique in many ways. First,it is unusual that a materials producer,in this case theworld-leading chemicalgroup BASF, initiatesa collaborative project. Second, theUltradur® High Speedengineering plasticis new in a furniturecontext. The plasticis as fluid aswater, which meansit can get into thenarrowest corners of the mould, and italso retains itsexact shape afterthe moulding process.The plastic isextremely durable,as Grcic demonstratesin a film that showsa 50-kilo weight

being dropped from a three-metre heightonto MYTO. The chair reboundshigh up, which inslow motion createsa very strikingimage of its elas-ticity. Ultradur®

is also heat and UVresistant, which,combined with themesh pattern of its seat and back,increases thechair’s possibleareas of use. The material, whichhas originally beeninvented in the latesixties, was optimizedin several developmentcycles to performthe specific require-ments of the MYTOchair. Another unique fea-

ture is that it onlytook a year from thefirst meeting to thepresentation of thefinal product, whichwas shown to theworld’s plastic andrubber enthusiastsat the biggest tradefair for that audi-ence – K 2007 inDüsseldorf. Afterthe fair the 200exhibited chairswere destroyed sothat no one couldsee them again beforesix months later inMilan. They will beshown by Plank, ofcourse, but also ina large exhibitionat La Triennale,where the whole process will beillustrated. “During the press

conference at K 2007in October not onequestion was directedat me – everyoneonly wanted to talkabout the material’sproperties and possibilities, sothey spoke with the engineers andtechnicians fromBASF,” Grcic says.“And of course thatwas what BASF wanted– to have a productact as a tool toconvey informationabout the materialitself.”He remembers when he first said thathe wanted to createa chair, as opposedto, let’s say, abottle opener. The BASF technicianslooked a little

nervous even then,and when it becameclear that he wantedto create a cantileverchair, their faceswent a shade paler.“I must say thatBASF was courageousto take up the challenge,” Grcicsays. “While my colleagues and Iworked on the design,they developed thematerial further sothat it could sat-isfy the demands ofthe chair as opti-mally as possible.At the same timePlank was working on the productionrequirements. Thanks to these parallel efforts ina continual dialoguebetween everyoneinvolved, I don’t

think I’ve ever beeninvolved in a moreinspiring and effi-cient process.“This is my firstcantilever chair.Marcel Breuer’stubular steel versionis known as a pleasantly rocking,timeless model. I wanted to see ifthat feeling couldbe transferred toplastic. And whatwould the Pantonchair look like ifit had been createdtoday?” wonders thedesigner, who isknown for taking hisproducts that onestep further, andpushing the prevail-ing limits by posingnew questions.“The material andthe manufacturing

method gave me theoptimal conditionsfor finding out theanswer,” he continues.“One of the challengeswas to create a kindof anatomical feelto the chair as awhole. Like in theframe, where Ithought of how thebody’s muscles arebuilt up dependingon exactly where thestrength is mostneeded and the loadis greatest.”The chair’s flexi-bility lies not onlyin its frame; boththe seat and backshould also feel asspringy as cushions.The solution lies ina combination of thegeometry of the seatand back – a perfor-ated mesh pattern in

which the material isfar thinner than inthe frame. Thanks tothis, MYTO alsolooks much lighterthan its 5.6 kilos.When asked why hechose to design achair, Grcic answeredthat a chair – especially a canti-lever one – woulddemand the utmostboth from the materialand from himself as a designer.“As well, I’m fasci-nated by how muchchairs tell us abouttheir own eras.Think of the VitraDesign Museum’sclassic poster ofchairs that aredesign icons fromdifferent eras. By looking at themwe understand what

the cars, houses,and fashions lookedlike, and also what techniquesand materials wereavailable. Quitesimply, they revealthe spirit of the age.”It remains to beseen whether MYTOwill feature on anupdated version of Vitra’s poster. The chances are good.

FORM (SE)No. 218, January/February 2008, pp. 80-81

Why a chair?by Susanne Helgeson

since the earlieststage, available todesigners for animmediate feasibilitycheck-up. Novemberto February wereabout developing thedesign, the structureand the machinery.Then, a go-ahead wasgiven to make themoulding tool: a 200 000-Euroinvestment, specialtempered steel, computer controlledmilling, and a 3-month productionperiod. The firstchair emerged inlate August, provingthat the systembasically worked.With the new plastic

allowing for extremethick-to-thin tran-sitions, the wholechair is injected inone go. Its delicatemesh-like seat andback presented thebiggest challenge,as they had to withstand a load of200kg and impactsfrom a kick or adropped object. “You make a lot ofpreliminary tests,but there is alwaysa risk,” says Grcic.“The simulationsoftware is soph-isticated but this is theory and thepractice is different.Some of the firstchairs broke.

We had to analyzethe reasons, and by then it was onlyBASF and their chem-istry that couldsolve the problem.You can’t change the mould any more:the process is toocomplicated, slowand costly. But thechemistry allows youto reinforce theplastic, to useadditives changingits properties —it’s really likecooking.”After the Duessel-dorf preview at theBASF stand, Plankwill show the MYTOchair in Cologne(January ’08), and

in Milan (April ’08),where the projecthistory will beillustrated by aninstallation at theTriennale palace.“We want to encourageothers to work thisway. The furnitureindustry is in akind of dead end atthe moment. You dealwith same-sized companies, the samefrustrations andlimited resources,while building ateam of experts from the beginninghas created a wholenew situation whereeveryone had his own interest. The necessary big

investment was spreadbetween several participants; theyshared their expertiseso that you couldsteer the project in a most efficientway. There was some-thing in the projectthat I often miss in this industrywhere everything isjust difficult andnot possible to do.Here, we made itdifficult ourselves,but it was a challengethat motivatedpeople, and everyonewanted to make itpossible.”

Examples from international press reactions to MYTO prior to production begin.


Init iators

BASF likes to thank:

Dr. John FeldmannDr. Harald LaukeDr. Hoven-NievelsteinDr. Christian Exner Bruno HartfelderDr. Sabine Philipp,Manuela UngerMichael Tritschler Nina Herz Stefanie AntonicUlli Wolf Karl-Heinz HombergLeonhard UllrichGerhard Leiter

KGID likes to thank:

Massimo VirginioLorenzo ConsolaroNarciso NicheleGiorgio VanzoAndrej KupetzHelge AzmoneitBarbara GlasnerIrina SasseMike MeiréStephanie EckerskornMonika Kochs Kerstin Anna Berger Petra SchmidtStefano BoeriAnniina Koivu

Giovanna Silva Barbara Raschig Alice Rawsthorn Susanne HelgesonAnna Yudina Oliver Herwig Gerrit Terstiege

PLANK likes to thank:

Sandra LaubeTakeshi IzuhoriJosef Mauracher Dr. ChristianHarrasserand all collab-orators at Plank who contributed to the project.

BASF

BASF is the world’sleading chemicalcompany. Its portfolio rangesfrom chemicals, plastics, performanceproducts, agriculture products and finechemicals to crudeoil and natural gas.As a reliable partnerto nearly all industries BASF’ssustainable develop-ment of high valueproducts andintelligent systemsolutions help itscustomers to be more successful. For BASF sustainabledevelopment meanscombining long termbusiness growth with environmentalprotection and socialresponsibility, thuscontributing toshape a successfulfuture.

KGID

Konstantin GrcicIndustrial Designwas established inMunich, Germany in1991. The studio is specialised invarious fields ofdesign, ranging fromfurniture design tocomissioned worklike architecturalprojects. KonstantinGrcic definesfunction in humanterms, combiningformal strictnesswith considerablemental acuity andhumour. Each of hisproducts is charac-terised by his carefulresearch into thehistory of designand architecture and his passion for technology andmaterials. Known forpared-down pieces,Grcic is often calleda minimalist but thedesigner himselfprefers to speak ofsimplicity. Many ofthe products have

received internationaldesign awards and are part ofpermanent designcollections such as Museum of ModernArt/New York, CentreGeorges Pompidou/Paris, Die NeueSammlung/Munich. In June 2005 PHAIDONPress, London, published the firstcomprehensive mono-graphy about thework of KonstantinGrcic IndustrialDesign. The 240 pagevolume was edited by Florian Böhm.

PLANK

PLANK’s historydates back to 1893.For generations, thename has stood forthe highest quality.The basic objectivehas always been theinvestigation andintensive researchfor technologicalpossibilities con-nected to the prin-ciples of design. PLANK works togetherwith renowned de-signers. Togetherwith Konstantin GrcicPLANK presentedthe MIURA bar stool(2005), which wasrecently added tothe collection ofthe Museum of ModernArt in New York.PLANK products arepart of the mostimportant museumcollections aroundthe world (MoMA, New York, USA;Museum fürAngewandte Kunst,Frankfurt, Germany;Die Neue Sammlung,

Staatliches Museum für angewandte Kunst/Design in der Pinakothek derModerne, Munich,Germany; Museé duQuebéc, Québec City,Canada; TriennaleDesign Museum,Milan, Italy).

Kurt HöfliBASF

Director MarketingEngineering Plastics

Thomas FritzscheBASF

Business Manager Ultradur®

Anja BakkerBASF

ApplicationDevelopmentEngineer

Dr. Ulrich EndemannBASF

ManagerApplicationEngineering

Dr. Tsung-Chieh ChengBASF

ApplicationDevelopmentEngineer

Dr. Andreas EipperBASF

TechnicalProduct ManagerUltradur®

Mark VölkelBASF

TechnicalProject ManagerUltradur®

Konstantin GrcicKGID

Alexander LöhrKGID

Martin PlankPLANK

Product Development

Michael PlankPLANK

General Manager

Biagio CisottiPLANK

Creative Consultant

Peter GruberPLANK

Product Development


MYTO

a cantilever chair the making of MYTO

a project by BASF

KGID

PLANK

Ludwigshafen / Munich / Ora

Milan April 2008

height 820 mm

width 510 mm

length 550 mm

weight 5.6 kg

material Ultradur® High Speed by BASF

Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design

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