PP502 The Swivel Chair PP Møbler

Wegner designed The Swivel Chair PP502 in 1955 for Johannes Hansen Møbelsnedkeri A/S. PP Møbler resumed production in 1991. PP502’s combined arm- and backrest, also called a top rail, is made from solid wood. The different pieces have been cut from newly felled trees that must be at least 150 years old in order to be the right size. The wood is left to dry for up to 2 years, in a highly controlled environment until the humidity is down to no more than six percent. The frame is made from silver soldered stainless steel and includes an adjustment mechanism enabling the user to adjust the height of the chair. Only the finest leather is used for upholstering the seat.

The Swivel Chair is an uncompromising tool with comfort and ergonomics as overriding considerations. In actual fact, it is a continuation of pp501/pp503 The Chair, which marked a turning point, not just for Wegner but also for Danish Design in general. The top bar, made of solid wood and twisted like a propeller, is separated from the remaining frame and completed at the very limit of what is possible for full ergonomic advantage.
Wegner was inspired by Consultant, Professor and Doctor of Medicine & PhD Egill Snorrason’s critique, which was aimed at the entire Danish design and furniture trade for not paying enough attention to ergonomics. In his critique, however, Snorrason had actually pointed out that Wegner’s Cow Horn Chair was in fact an ergonomically correct exception to the rule, and the two passionate professionals engaged in a dialogue, which resulted in the Swivel Chair with a large piece of solid wood to support the lower back.
Like numerous other Wegner designs, the Swivel Chair was to be produced by Danish craftsmen with not a second thought for cost-minimising industrial production. It presents huge challenges for the joiner, the upholsterer and the blacksmith, as it demands time-consuming work that must not be compromised in any way. Wegner himself expressed it thus, ‘It’s for the boss … or the secretary. No, it’s too expensive for the secretary. It’s for the boss who will appreciate being able to sit correctly in a chair’.