Seating1958
Swan Chair
Design Object · Lounge chair
Swan Chair
The Swan was designed for the SAS Royal Hotel in 1958 and is formed without straight lines.
Record
| Object type | Lounge chair[s1] |
|---|---|
| Designer | Arne Jacobsen[s1] |
| Manufacturer | Fritz Hansen[s1] |
| Original year | 1958[s1] |
| Country | Denmark[s1] |
| Materials | Moulded foam shell, Aluminium base, Upholstery[s1] |
| Dimensions | W 74 × D 68 × H 77 cm[s1] |
| Series | Swan[s1] |
| Model | 3320[s1] |
| Production status | In production[s1] |
| Specification scope | Current lounge chair specification.[s1] |
Design history & editions
Sources consulted 3 September 2026. This date applies to these notes, not a fresh verification of every inherited specification.
Organic seating in a rectilinear building
Designed in 1958, Swan formed part of Jacobsen's interior for the SAS Royal Hotel, which opened in 1960. The designer archive describes the contrast between the chair's free curves and the building's right angles. It later appeared in Jacobsen's other architectural interiors, including St Catherine's College in Oxford. [1]
From a plywood idea to a foam shell
Early drawings indicate that Jacobsen considered plywood for Swan. The archive describes the subsequent use of a cast Styropor seating shell, made possible by Fritz Hansen's new production method. This allowed the lightly padded form to develop beyond the constraints of the initial wooden-shell idea. [1]
The shape is the organising feature
Fritz Hansen characterises Swan as a design of curves without straight lines. Its lower, open silhouette gives it a different spatial presence from Egg's enclosing high back. The structured comparison retains the same specification fields so these are not reduced to competing style labels. [2]
Models and editions
| Model / edition | What distinguishes it |
|---|---|
| Swan lounge chair | The manufacturer's series page presents Swan as a 1958 design for the hotel's lobby and lounge areas. This record concerns the chair rather than the complete hotel furniture programme. [2] |
| Historical wooden-frame version | The archive records an alternative wooden-frame model offered for a few years. It does not give this entry a complete year-by-year production history. [1] |
| Swan sofa | The hotel scheme also included a Swan sofa that entered production. It is a separate object and must not inherit the chair's measurements. [1] |
What this record does not establish
The historical shell description is not a claim about the material inside every current or restored Swan. Museum ownership, serial-number dating and upholstery originality are not established by this entry.
Evidence for these notes
- Arne Jacobsen Design · The Swan
Designer archive · Hotel context, development, wooden-frame version and sofa
- Fritz Hansen · Swan
Manufacturer · 1958 design and curved form
Availability
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