Emeco 20-06 Stacking Chair in Brushed Aluminium by Norman Foster
About the Item
- Creator:Emeco (Manufacturer),Sir Norman Foster (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Depth: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:7-8 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Hanover, PA
- Reference Number:
Emeco
While they’re best known for their revolutionary Navy chair, iconic American furniture company Emeco makes a whole range of seating and other furniture — not just seaworthy chairs. The development of each product is guided by an eco-friendly ethos and pragmatic approach to design.
Emeco began to take shape during the 1940s, when the U.S. Navy needed a lightweight, fireproof chair that could withstand a torpedo blast and hold up to use by “big, burly sailors,” says Gregg Buchbinder, Emeco’s chief executive.
With experts from the Aluminum Company of America, an engineer named Wilton C. Dinges (1916–74) delivered, and the Emeco 1006 — that is, the Navy chair — an aluminum classic, was born. In order to demonstrate the chair’s sturdiness, Dinges threw it from the eighth floor of a hotel in Chicago, and when it landed, the chair bounced in lieu of breaking or bending.
The engineer secured a contract to manufacture the Navy chair beginning in 1944 at the Electrical Machine and Equipment Company (Emeco), which he’d founded a few years earlier in Hanover, Pennsylvania. In the ensuing decades, the factory’s craftsmen would stamp out by hand hundreds of thousands of Navy chairs for battleships, aircraft carriers and submarines — a process that requires more than 70 steps.
Today, the impossibly durable Navy chair, which is recyclable and made of at least 80 percent recycled aluminum, inspires knockoffs left and right and can be found in a variety of public settings, from upscale restaurants to hotels and offices. But it took time to get here.
In 1979, Gregg’s father, Jay Buchbinder, a businessman whose Long Beach, California, furniture company manufactured seating for fast food restaurants, purchased Emeco. The company hit a rough patch in the 1990s. When Gregg acquired Emeco from Jay in 1998, he took the $2 million in debt that came along with it. Fortuitously, Gregg learned that the Navy chair had taken on a new nonmilitary identity around the same time and that it was increasingly seen as sleek and retro in addition to being great submarine seating. Orders for the Navy chair were coming in from design luminaries like Ettore Sottsass, Giorgio Armani and a daring young French designer named Philippe Starck, who purchased a large number of 1006s for Ian Schrager’s Paramount hotel in New York City.
Gregg seized on Emeco’s newfound popularity, initiating a partnership with Starck, who would design the company’s Hudson Collection, a line planned for Manhattan’s Hudson Hotel that saw the Navy chair take on the form of a barstool and other pieces. He also partnered with Frank Gehry, whose Superlight chair for Emeco can be hoisted off the ground with one hand. Collaborations with Jasper Morrison, Jean Nouvel and others followed, and today, Emeco continues to build durable seating furniture from a range of recycled materials with a variety of designers.
Find authentic Emeco chairs, stools, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Hanover, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Emeco 20-06 Small Round Café Table in Brushed Aluminium by Norman FosterBy Sir Norman Foster, EmecoLocated in Hanover, PAEmeco’s collaboration with Norman Foster resulted in the “20-06” collection. Foster envisioned a “neutral” table - visually and physically lightweight. ”I appreciate the anonymous ch...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Emeco 20-06 Armchair in Brushed Aluminum by Norman FosterBy Emeco, Sir Norman FosterLocated in Hanover, PAEmeco’s collaboration with Norman Foster resulted in the “20-06” chair. Foster envisioned a “neutral” chair -visually and physically lightweight. But the...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Emeco 20-06 Barstool in Brushed Aluminum by Norman FosterBy Sir Norman Foster, EmecoLocated in Hanover, PAEmeco’s collaboration with Norman Foster resulted in the “20-06” chair. Foster envisioned a “neutral” chair - visually and physically lightweight. But th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
MaterialsAluminum
- Emeco 20-06 Counter Stool in Brushed Aluminum by Norman FosterBy Emeco, Sir Norman FosterLocated in Hanover, PAEmeco’s collaboration with Norman Foster resulted in the “20-06” chair. Foster envisioned a “neutral” chair - visually and physically lightweight. But th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Stools
MaterialsAluminum
- Emeco 20-06 Large Round Bar Table in Brushed Aluminum by Norman FosterBy Sir Norman Foster, EmecoLocated in Hanover, PAEmeco’s collaboration with Norman Foster resulted in the “20-06” collection. Foster envisioned a “neutral” table - visually and physically lightweight. ”I appreciate the anonymous ch...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Emeco 20-06 Large Square Bar Table in Brushed Aluminum by Norman FosterBy Sir Norman Foster, EmecoLocated in Hanover, PAEmeco’s collaboration with Norman Foster resulted in the “20-06” collection. Foster envisioned a “neutral” table - visually and physically lightweight. ”I appreciate the anonymous ch...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Six Stackable Polished Aluminium Dining Height Chairs by Allermuir, UK, 1998Located in Jersey City, NJSix "Luna" stacking chairs in polished cast aluminium designed by Amos Marchant and Lyndon Anderson of Blue Design in 1996, manufactured by Allermuir in 1998.Category
1990s Dining Room Chairs
- Navy Chair by EmecoBy EmecoLocated in Meulebeke, BEFirst built for use on submarines in 1944, the Navy Chair has been in continuous production ever since. This is a recent production in a very good condition.Category
Vintage 1940s North American Industrial Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Set of Six Stacking Chairs by Vlad Muller in YellowBy Vlad MullerLocated in Hanover, MASet of 6 stacking and interlocking armless chairs in bright yellow designed in the 1970's by Vlad Muller. When stacked the set is sculptural and geometric. Handy to have spare ch...Category
Vintage 1970s German Modern Dining Room Chairs
- Emeco Navy Collection Brushed Aluminum Side Chair 1006, a PairBy EmecoLocated in Philadelphia, PAEmeco Navy Collection Brushed Aluminum Side Chair 1006 - A Pair. Item features aluminum construction, original labels, very nice vintage item, quality Ameri...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- 10 Mid Century Modern Stacking Chairs by AIR in WhiteLocated in Port Jervis, NYSimple and elegant set of 10 heavy duty stacking chairs in white plastic, not vinyl, by AIR. Lucite feet on all the legs, chairs are in excellent condition with minimal wear. Stacki...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlastic, Lucite
- Mid-Century Bentwood Chairs in the Style of Norman ChernerBy Norman ChernerLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis pair of mid century chairs in the style of Norman Cherner feature a bentwood design, original vinyl upholstered seat backs, and black painted tapered legs which offer a modern a...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsBentwood