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Space Age Seating

SPACE AGE STYLE

Vintage Space Age furniture captured post–World War II optimism with swooping shapes, bowed lines and experimentation with new materials including plastic and fiberglass.

From the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957 to the landing of Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon in 1969, the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States propelled advancements in technology that transformed culture. Space Age design encompassed fashion, architecture, cars, furniture and objects for the home, bringing wonder and hope for the future into everyday life.

Coinciding with Pop art, Space Age style featured bold colors and forms. Eero Aarnio’s Ball chair, which debuted in 1966, used molded fiberglass for a capsule-like space while Verner Panton’s 1959 Panton chair was a single piece of molded plastic for a gravity-defying S shape. Red versions of Olivier Mourgue’s 1964 Djinn chair were futuristic enough to appear on the space station in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Today, Joe Colombo is revered as a master of modern Italian design thanks to the provocative modular furniture pieces he created, such as the Tube chair and the Elda armchair, both of which embody the future-forward spirit of the Space Age.

The Space Age spirit extended to home building too. The futuristic Case Study Houses, which were designed by the likes of Pierre Koenig, Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra and Whitney R. Smith, are considered a high point of modernism and the Southern California lifestyle.

Sometimes the nods to space exploration were more literal, like moon and star motifs or the 1965 Eclisse lamp by Vico Magistretti that saw the mid-century Italian designer integrating a movable inner shade to “eclipse” the light source. Alongside the pioneering moon missions, JVC manufactured the Videosphere portable television reminiscent of the Apollo 11 space helmets.

Although the style faded in the 1970s — with the 1975 joining of the Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts signaling a new era of cooperation and the global oil crisis impacting the availability of plastics — the era’s innovations influenced designers into the 21st century such as Zaha Hadid and Djivan Schapira.

Find a collection of vintage Space Age seating, tables, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.

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Style: Space Age
Italian Black fiberglass fabric Armchair Girasole Tournesol by Frigerio, 1960s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian space age Black fiberglass and fabric Armchair Girasole by Frigerio, 1960s Armchair mod. Girasole (Tournesol) with flower-shaped seat, padded and upholstered in colorful fab...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Fabric, Fiberglass

Afra and Tobia Scarpa Brown Soriana Lounge Chair and Ottoman for Cassina, 1969
Located in Vicenza, IT
Soriana lounge chair and ottoman, designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, and produced by the Italian manufacturer Cassina in 1969. Re-upholstered with brown velvet. Winner of the “Compas...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Chrome

Italian Post Modern White Plastic Stool Tokyo Pop by Yoshioka Driade, 2000s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian space age Post Modern White Plastic Stool Tokyo Pop with Footres by Tokujin Yoshioka for Driade, 2000s Stool mod. Tokyo Pop with a round b...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Space Age Seating

Materials

Plastic

Stool in wood, Sign Denmark, 1950
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Stool / Sign: Denmark You want to live in the golden years, this is the stool that your project needs. We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles since 1982....
Category

1950s Danish Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Wood

Stool in Wood, Country France, 1950
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Stools. Material: iron and wood You want to live in the golden years, this is the stool that your project needs. We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and Vin...
Category

1950s French Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Iron

Gaudì Space Age Brown Living Room Set by Vico Magistretti for Artemide, 1974
Located in Vicenza, IT
Gaudì living room set, designed by Vico Magistretti for Artemide in 1970. It is composed of three chocolate brown Gaudì armchairs and a Demetrio 70 coffee table. Excellent vintage condition. The Gaudi and Vicario armchairs...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Fiberglass

Grey Mohair and Chrome Lounge Chairs Designed by Malchioro for IPE, Italy, 1970
Located in Echt, NL
Beautiful and elegant set of lounge chairs in very good condition. Made in Italy in the 1970s by IPE. Designed by A. Malchioro. The design of the chrome frame gives the armchair a...
Category

20th Century Italian Space Age Seating

Materials

Metal, Chrome

Vintage Boho Bent Rattan Lounge Chairs After Gio Ponte
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This elegant vintage swivel chair captures the essence of relaxed, mid-century tropical style with its gracefully curved silhouette and high spindle back. Expertly constructed from b...
Category

Mid-20th Century Philippine Space Age Seating

Materials

Fabric, Bamboo, Rattan

Organic Lounge Chair by Qui Est Paul
Located in Mortsel, BE
Perfect for outdoors
Category

2010s Unknown Space Age Seating

Materials

Plastic

Organic Lounge Chair by Qui Est Paul
Organic Lounge Chair by Qui Est Paul
$2,470 Sale Price
20% Off
Michel Cadestin Orchidée Armchair
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Orchidée armchair designed by Michel Cadestin Produced by Airborne in the 1960s-1970s Very comfortable seat Features a white-lacquered fiberglass shell and new orange leatherette ...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Space Age Seating

Materials

Faux Leather, Fiberglass

Michel Cadestin Orchidée Armchair
Michel Cadestin Orchidée Armchair
$3,380 Sale Price / item
35% Off
Chairs in Painted Metal and Leather, 1970s, Set of 2
Located in Montelabbate, PU
A pair of armchairs with suspended seats, featuring a painted metal base and upholstered backrest and seat covered in black leather. Light wear due to age and use, in overall good c...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Metal

Swivel Re.Lounge Armchairs by Burkhard Vogtherr for König Neurath
Located in Izegem, VWV
The Re.Lounge armchair was produced by König + Neurath for very relaxed sitting and good conversation. A beautifully designed quality chair that of...
Category

Early 2000s German Space Age Seating

Materials

Chrome

Gerard Le Fe Fibreglass Chair for Prisunic Editions, France, circa 1970
Located in London, GB
Prisunic editions was both a manufacturer and retailer founded in France during 1968. The company’s aim was to revolutionise the furniture industry within France offering the consumer a cutting edge product and retail experience. Prisunic editions sold its futuristic designs often from moulded plastic and fiberglass through a catalogue. Their approach was guided by a desire to create impactful design that was affordable to the masses. Their project attracted highly regarded designers from across Europe such as Marc Held, Gae Aulenti and Terence Conran. This chair’s form is very much a consequence of the moulding process employed. The chairs soft undulating curves are not an aesthetic decision per se but in fact the result of engineering. The chair is in good structural and cosmetic condition with minor signs of use and sits like a dream with our Marc Berthier Ozoo desk...
Category

1970s French Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Fiberglass

4 Chair, Italian, 1950
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
4 Chairs Country: Italian If you are looking for a desk chair to match your desk, we have what you need. We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and Vintage styles since 1982.If you have any questions we are at your disposal. Pushing the button that reads 'View All From Seller'. And you can see more objects to the style. Why are there so many antiques in Argentina? In the 1880 – 1940 there was a grate wave of immigration encouraged by the periods of war that were taking place. 1st World War took place between 1914 and 1918 2nd World War took place between 1939 and 1945 The immigrants options were New York or Buenos Aires. Tickets were cheap and in Buenos Aires they were welcomed with open arms, as it was a country where everything was still to be done. Argentina was the country of new opportunities, labour was needed and religious freedom was assured, in many cases the of the family travel first until they were settled and then the rest of the family members join them. In the immigrant museum “Ellis Island Immigrant Building” in New York you can se the promotional posters of the boats that would take them to a new life. Between the years 1895 and 1896, Argentina had the highest DGP (gross domestic product) per capita in the world according to the Maddison Historical Statistics index, this situation arose due to the large amount of food being exported to European countries, which were at war. The Argentinean ships left the port of Buenos Aires with food, but they returned with furniture, clothes and construction elements, (it´s common to see this the old buildings of the historic neighbourhood of San Telmo, the beams with the inscription “Made in England)”, as well as many markets that were built in Buenos Aires, such us the San Telmo Market, whose structure was brought by ship and afterwards assembled in 900 Defensa Street. With the great influence of European immigrants living in the country, the children of the upper classes travelled to study in France, resulting in the inauguration of “La Maison Argentinienne”, on 27th of June 1928, in the international city of Paris, which hosted many Argentinians that were studying in Frace. It´s the fourth house to be built after France, Canada and Belgium, being the first Spanish-speaking one. Still in place today (17 Bd Jourdan, 75014, Paris, France). Many of the children of these wealthy families who attended international art exhibitions, museums and art courses abroad, took a keen interest in the European style. This is why Buenos Aires was at the time referred as “The Paris of South America”. Between the years 1890 and 1920 more than a hundred Palaces were built on Alvear Avenue the most exclusive avenue in Buenos Aires. Today some of these palaces have been transformed into museums, hotels and embassies. In the year 1936, the Kavanagh building was inaugurated, it was the tallest reinforced concrete building in South America. During 1994 the American Society of Civil Engineers distinguished it as an “international engineering milestone”, and it´s now considered a World Heritage of Modern Architecture. At the time was common to hire foreign architects such as Le Corbusier, who visited Buenos Aires/Argentina in 1929 and in 1948 he drew up the blueprints for a house built in La Plata City (which was declared a World Heritage Site). In 1947, the Hungarian architect Marcelo Breuer designed “Parador Ariston” in the seaside city of Mar del Plata. After an Argentinean student at Harvard University convinced him to come to Argentina. He worked on an urban development project in the Casa Amarilla, area of La Boca. The Ukrainian architect, Vladimiro Acosta, arrives in Argentina in 1928 and worked as an architect until que moved to Brazil. Antonio Bonet, a Spanish architect who worked with Le Corbusier in Paris, arrives in Argentina in 1937, where he carried out several architectural works and in 1938 designs the well-known BFK chair...
Category

1920s Italian Vintage Space Age Seating

Materials

Wood

Space Age seating for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Space Age seating for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage seating created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include seating, tables, building and garden elements and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with plastic, fabric and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Space Age seating made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and France pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original seating, popular names associated with this style include Joe Colombo, Mario Bellini, Verner Panton, and Pierre Paulin. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for seating differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $139 and tops out at $170,000 while the average work can sell for $3,783.