The new Archer chair, designed by Magnus Long for SCP, features a cantilever structure made from tubular steel, with a plywood seat and backrest. The chair utilises formed tubing for a degree of spring, providing both comfort and a little dynamism. The semicircular forms in the foot, seat and backrest create aligned arcs when viewed from above, contributing to a cohesive design. The junction of the seat back features a rounded motif, and the slim tubing provides a sense of lightness.
Long discussed the project’s origins and the significance of the cantilever typology: ‘This project began because it’s 100 years since Mart Stam designed and assembled the first cantilever chair and also because Sheridan [Coakley] started SCP by selling PEL tubular steel furniture under license, and he has a great affection for the typology.
‘My first chair design in 1999 was a cantilever chair whilst at university, so it was nice to be asked to design one for the first time since, and for SCP. The notion of looking backwards to understand where we are now is appealing because I see it as a way to contextualise ourselves as designers building on what’s gone before, but more broadly to reflect on where we have arrived technically and emotionally through product identity. It’s rare that a specific typology of furniture can so clearly be traced back to such a defined moment and I thought about why the cantilever chair came about 100 years ago. From a material perspective, steel tubing had been around for a while, but cold-drawn tubing had been invented in the late 1800s. It was stronger than ever in terms of its ability to withstand cyclical stress. So the Bauhaus designers had this incredible material to play with and a purpose to make industrially produced furniture. At this collision point the first cantilever chair was born. There is this brilliant chain of connections in the history of science, arts and technology that lead to this type of chair being made possible.’
SCP, founded in 1985 by Sheridan Coakley, is a British manufacturer and retailer of contemporary furniture, lighting, textiles and accessories. The company focuses on reinterpreting traditional furniture typologies.
