Vodöl Armchair

Coop Himmelblau has aimed not only to lighten and dematerialize architecture but also to blur the boundaries between design and art. This piece unhinges and deconstructs Le Corbusier’s iconic Fauteuil Grand Comfort Chair (1928) by placing the seat on a repurposed I beam. Aligned with the Deconstructivist principles of asymmetry, contradiction, and unsettlement, Vodöl has been interpreted as a satire of modern furniture. Its name—after the word in the Viennese dialect for armchair, which in French is fauteuil—reinforces the connection to Le Corbusier.