Chaise Tout Bois Chair

Wooden chair with thick back legs

The Chaise Tout Bois Vitra chair is the only chair by the French engineer and designer Jean Prouvé that is crafted entirely from wood. Visually, the chair resembles the iconic Standard chair, whose metal base was replaced with a wooden one due to the metal shortage during World War II. The shape of the Chaise Tout Bois chair is particularly striking due to the thickness of its back legs. The back legs and backrest supports bear the greatest load when seated, which is why Prouvé designed these elements to be especially thick, thereby emphasizing them visually as well.

Made of oak without any screws

During the war, several prototypes of the chair were created to test its strength, the joints, the position of the legs, and the attachment of the backrest and seat. The type of wood used depended on availability at the time. After the war, oak—which had been used in France for the construction of cathedral roofs and boats due to its hardness and stability—was once again readily available. And because these properties are also ideal for a solid-wood chair, Chaise Tout Bois it was ultimately made from oak and plywood—and, at the request of Jean Prouvé’s clients, also in dark-stained versions. The Chaise Tout Bois Vitra ’s chair is based on a 1941 design that requires no screws whatsoever. The chair’s height and seat geometry conform to the standard and thus meet today’s requirements.