bassamfellows designs ‘brutus’ chair that plays on modernist vernacular

bassamfellows has unveiled a chair that draws from the modernist vernacular of iconic designers such as pierre jeanneret and charlotte perriand. launching this april during milan design week 2020, ‘brutus’ emphasizes sculptural elements whilst elevating aspects evident in brutalist architecture.

images courtesy of bassamfellows

available in walnut and oak with either upholstery or vienna caning, reminiscent of 1950s chandigarh, brutus updates its visual references with an organic smoothness. the shape is made to look as though it has been weathered naturally, its silhouette suggesting a giant shell that has been machined to create a single sculptural element with a striking squared-off hole in the center.

‘the cluster is a simple, easy to move object for sitting on, and it stacks neatly away without the need to be hidden. a group of clusters looks ‘on purpose’, and pleasing to the eye,’ bassamfellows explains.

guernsey, channel islands (circa 1940-45) photographer credit. don cameron, 2004.

‘it is stark, but the dip in the seat and the rounded taper of its three legs is elegant and sculptural,’ it adds. ‘it belongs to a canon of utilitarian, modernist stools, including perriand’s tabouret berger stool, from 1953, that looks like the kind of ultra-functional object you may find in a japanese onsen – a design that may have existed unchanged for centuries.’

the chair’s elliptical legs taper down from the seat to the floor, shaped like a rounded shark’s fin so they look broad from one angle, and remarkably thin from another. the idea for brutus came from a dream that designer craig bassam before waking at 3am one morning and sketching out the design in significant detail.

‘it came from something subconscious, and appeared fully realized on paper,’ says bassamfellows. ‘it is a design shaped by instinct.‘

alderney, channel islands (circa 1940-45) photographer credit. don cameron, 2004.

for 15 years craig bassam and creative director scott fellows have been redefining american luxury with their own unique modernist philosophy of ‘craftsman modern’. bassamfellows unveiles its first collection at the 2003 salone del mobile in milan with pieces that included the seminal solid timber ‘tractor’ stool, a contemporized version of an old swiss tractor seat.

bassamfellows has created furniture pieces for some of the world’s most recognizable brands such as starbucks reserve roastery, bally, herman miller, and stellar works. it continues to champion and preserve important modernist architecture, recently winning a prestigious docomomo award for the preservation and restoration of their headquarters and design studio, the former schlumberger administration building, designed in 1952 by philip johnson.