The Neubau Chair, produced by longstanding Viennese furniture maker Kohlmaier (est. 1884), has two functions. It can be used as a lounge chair, a reading chair or a music chair while at the same time offering lots of space for storing things like books, periodicals or an old record collection. The storage of objects inside the chair itself makes for additional stability, since the stored items’ weight rests at the lowest point. The upward-sweeping inner surfaces of the Neubau Chair open to form a seating surface and a backrest—which raises a question: can you actually sit down without sinking into this cuboid object’s top opening? Yes, you can. Like so many of Feichtner’s products, the Neubau Chair has some good-natured fun with its user: only through actual use are its functions revealed. The word “Neubau” (which translates into English as “New Building”) is not an allusion to innovation or to the chair’s construction; it is simply the name of Vienna’s 7th district. This area near the center of town, which contains some of the Vienna’s oldest neighborhoods, is home to institutions such as the MuseumsQuartier and is also regarded as the city’s artists’ quarter. Feichtner’s studio and the Kohlmaier manufactory are likewise located in the 7th district, just a short walk away from each other. And it was the uncomplicated, neighborly cooperation enjoyed by both which inspired this design’s name.
