.03 Dining Chair

The .03 Chair is extraordinarily comfortable. The seat shell, which is made of resilient integral skin polyurethane foam, adapts to the user's body and flexes slightly when the sitter leans back, aided by leaf springs embedded in the backrest.

The .03 Chair was designed by Maarten Van Severen. Van Severen was trained in architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. In the mid 1980s, he went to work on interior design and furniture. In 1998, Vitra would introduce the .03 chair, along with other pieces by Van Severen (such as a chaise lounge). The design is beautifully detailed with only two visible materials. Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA are also known to use works by Van Severen and to request his expertise in interiors. Milstein Hall at Cornell University features hundreds of his chairs. Van Severen passed away at age 48, though leaves a legacy of exquisite work for generations to come.