The Chair Man

edited by Craig Kellogg -- Interior Design, 6/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

This year's Pritzker Prize winner, Brazilian architect Paulo Archias Mendes da Rocha, isn't afraid of furniture. Way back in 1957, he introduced the Paulistano, which canny Design Within Reach has reissued. The chair uses 17 continuous feet of springy steel—and only one weld, to join the ends. Adjusting the seat for slouchers requires only a quick shift of the double-faced leather sling, likewise cut from a single hide.