The Language of Functionalism

With the industrial revolution of the early twentieth century, the design motto “form follows function” grew into its own language. It sprouted not only a change in design thinking, but a change in form and style. The language of that style is encompassed under the term “functionalism.” Furniture design driven by functionalist themes paralleled architectural modalities of the time. Clean forms, void of decoration, presented their simplicity and reveal their manufacturing process rather than conceal it. Chairs were designed for mass production. It’s intriguing, however, that the functional chairs we make today look quite different from those of the early 1900s. The question is: what is the difference between functional design functionalist design?

De Stijl as influence - 1917

Although this chair cannot be considered part of the functionalist movement, due to its creation process (it resides more in the art wold, and would not have been practical for mass production), its design language and intent informed and inspired designers of the Bauhaus.

Breuer of the Bauhaus, “Stuhl” cantilever - 1928

Marcel Breuer was both an architect and furniture designer based in the Bauhaus movement. He designed an array of chairs with simplicity of form and manufacturing in mind. This chair hides little about its materials, and in its shape suggests material weight, counterbalance, and flexibility. It is devoid of decoration.

Eames Plywood Dining Chair - 1946

Charles and Ray Eames worked often in laminated plywood, and always sought to create functional objects. Every part of the chair is of uniform material, and undergoes the same process to manufacture. Its rounded edges speak clearly in the language of functionalist design.

Herman Miller “Mirra” - 1994

Awarded for its comfort and control, the Aeron/Mirra chair has become an icon of the savvy office. Its functionalist component is inherently different from the chairs above - this is perhaps the crossover example from functionalist to functional. And yet much of its form speaks in a common language to functionalist chairs by its wide, curves and distortion of planes in three-dimensional space.

Savo “Ikon” - 1997

Another, even more recent office chair design harkens more directly back to elements of earlier functionalist chairs. But choice of form here has less to do with function than those designs which it references. The functionality of this object comes from its overall structure.