Max Lamb and Salon 94 Unveil The 50 Armchair
An extension of his ‘Economy Chair’ project, utilizing hand-cut and assembled polystyrene blocks.
Following up on his famous 60 Chair project, which brought to life sixty chairs from simple industrial materials in just three days, designer Max Lamb and Salon 94 have unveiled the 50 Armchair.
Made from hand-cut and meticulously assembled polystyrene, a humble packaging and insulation material, the latest project collection continues Lamb’s Economy Chair series. The ongoing exploration of polystyrene as an affordable, yet overlooked material is described as a “performance in material exploration,” as Lamb assembles each piece himself in an expedited time frame.
For this edition, Lamb evolves the design by adding additional arm rests and painting each piece with a bold “Coca-Cola” red hue. Rather than being of a traditional rectangular design, each piece is characterized by a polygonal cut, creating shapes reminiscent of Brutalist architecture. The similarities are fitting given that Lamb’s practice and Brutalism share an affinity for raw finishes and resourceful use of materials. Like Lamb’s previous work, each piece has its own unique character and subtle differences, speaking to the designer’s direct intervention in each piece.
As industrial waste continues to threaten the environment, designers like Max Lamb are increasingly ideating on ways to cut waste and reimagine the potential of overlooked processes and materials. Often using upcycled or discarded industrial materials, the designer often emphasizes imperfection and irregularity, promoting visual expressions of circularity as an aesthetic element.
The special color is limited to the first release and will retail for $6000 USD per chair for a limited time. Launching today, the 50 Chair by Max Lamb will be exhibited by Salon 94 at Design.Space LA.
