Vitra DSW Polypropylene chair with padded seat

Vitra holds the distribution rights in Europe and the Middle East.‎ The rights in the rest of the world are held by MillerKnoll.‎ For the Dining Height Side Chair Wood Base (DSW), Charles and Ray Eames combined the organically shaped seat shell with a four-legged wooden base.‎ This mix of plastic and wood lends the classic design a certain warmth and casual appeal.‎ The seat shells can be fitted with seat cushions or full upholstery in a wide selection of fabric colours, enabling a multitude of individual configurations.‎ Material description - Seat shell: dyed-through, recycled polypropylene, 100% recyclable.‎ All models are available with a seat cushion (screwed to the seat shell) or full upholstery.‎ The fully upholstered version has moulded polyurethane foam padding covered in fabric, attached to the shell with a welted edge.‎ Different shell and upholstery colours and various bases provide a multitude of possible combinations.‎ - Options:  the Eames Plastic Chair is available as a visitor chair, dining chair, rocking chair, swivel chair or in stacking versions and with ganging brackets for row seating.‎ Beam-mounted shells are suited for use in waiting areas.‎ - Base:  non-stackable wooden base in various shades of maple or honey-toned ash, stained and lacquered finish.‎ Steel rod cross struts in basic dark.‎ (DSW = Dining Height Side Chair Wood Base) - Origin of wood:  ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and maple (Acer platanoides) from Western Europe and/or Poland.‎ From January 2024 the shells of the Eames Plastic Chairs from Vitra are now made of recycled post-consumer plastic.‎ These chairs are known as Eames Plastic Chairs RE.‎ The recycling material stems from Germany's 'Yellow Bag' (Gelber Sack) collection of household waste, which primarily consists of used packaging.‎ Utilising this recyclate instead of conventional plastic generates fewer climate-damaging emissions and significantly reduces energy consumption.‎ Due to the composition of the recycled materials, the different colour versions of the seat shells are interspersed with tiny specks of pigment.‎ 'Getting the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least': with these words, Charles and Ray Eames described one of their main goals as furniture designers.‎ None of their other designs come as close to achieving this ideal as the Plastic Chairs.‎ For years, the designer couple explored the fundamental idea of a one-piece seat shell moulded to fit the contours of the human body.‎ After experiments with plywood and sheet aluminium in the 1940s produce unsatisfactory results, their search for alternative materials led them to glass-fibre reinforced polyester resin.‎ The Eameses recognised and fully exploited the advantages of the material: mouldability, rigidity, pleasant tactile qualities, suitability for industrial manufacturing methods.‎ With this material, which was previously unknown in the furniture industry, they successfully developed the shell designs for serial production.‎ After their debut at the 'Low-Cost Furniture Design' competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art in 1948, the Plastic Armchair (A-shell) and Plastic Side Chair (S-shell) were launched on the market in 1950 as the very first mass-produced plastic chairs in the history of furniture.‎ The Eames Plastic Chairs also introduced a new furniture typology that has since become widespread: the multifunctional chair whose shell can be joined with a variety of different bases to serve diverse purposes.‎ As early as 1950, Charles and Ray Eames presented a series of bases that enabled various sitting positions.‎ An especially striking model is the so-called Eiffel Tower base – an intricate and graceful design made of steel wire that inimitably combines light, elegant forms with structural strength.‎ Today Vitra manufactures the comfortable seat shells of the Eames Plastic Chairs in polypropylene, while those of the Eames Fiberglass Chairs are produced in glass-fibre reinforced polyester resin.‎ There is also a wide choice of bases and shell colours, along with upholstery options for some models.‎ This allows customers to specify countless different combinations and to use the chairs in the widest range of settings – from dining rooms, living rooms and home offices to office workspaces and conference rooms; from restaurants and cafés to break rooms and cafeterias; from waiting areas and auditoriums to terraces and gardens.‎ In 2016, Vitra added roughly 20 mm to the base height of the Eames Plastic Chairs DSX, DAX, DSR, DAR, DSW and DAW while adapting the seat geometry accordingly.‎  Further info from manufacturer on DSW Vitra