Product Description
Le Corbusier was faithful to an overall philosophy wherein proportion in architecture and design had to be based upon the proportions of the human body. Consequently, the narrow version of the Grand Confort was seen as the "male? Chair since a man usually sits upreght with his legs slightly parted. The wider version (see model 241), instead, was the "female? Chair. The extra width reflected the tendency of a woman to sit with her legs folded under her.

The Grand Confort was not put into production in 1929. The examples that appear in photographs of the period were prototypes. The original prototypes had a spring mechanism in the rear legs which made the chair slant back when in use. However, the mechanism did not function properly and the surviving examples all look as though the rear legs have been sawed off. The prototypes were also painted since the contruction methods did not allow proper chrome plating.

The Grand Confort was first put into production in 1959 by Mrs. Heidi Weber of Zurich. Mrs. Weber, with the approval of Le Corbusier, changed the appearance of the chair. She removed spring mechanism and used construction methods which permitted the frame to be chromed. She gave the cushions a more formal, tailored look.

There is no doubt that her intervention contributed to the present commercial success of the Grand Confort.

Armchair with structure in chromed or black painted tubular steel. Cushions filled with polyurethane foam and dracon. Removable upholstery.