Hauteville Armchair

Hauteville armchair, designed by Henri Lavalard-Boget and Julie Legros, for Lyon Béton.

Raw material. Sensual curves. Amazing comfort.

To deal with the main epidemics of tuberculosis (also known as the white plague) at the beginning of the 19th century, the commune of Hauteville was chosen for the construction of large sanatoriums. Now abandoned, they are the playground of urban explorers. It is in the attic of one of these sanatoriums that the story of the Hauteville collection of chairs and stools begins.

When designers Henri Lavalard-Boget and Julie Legros take a digestive walk, they prefer the old disused buildings on the banks of the Rhône. Everyone has their likes. One day, in the abandoned Hauteville sanatorium, they find a resin chair shell, probably dating from the 1950s.

Initially, with no commercial intent, the designers sought to experiment with fiberglass-reinforced cement using the shell as a matrix. Impetuous, impulsive and striking image. Playing with matter is giving your body, splinters and corrosive concrete, scratches and stiffness. To experiment is to play alchemists. Become the father of curiosities called failures, but sometimes they lead to beautiful surprises. Raw material, gray matter. The material of the casing and that of the building. The first prototypes were abused to check their long-term mechanical resistance, exaggerated weight and generous bodies, brutalities and dangerous balances, thermal shocks, frost under the scorching sun. A few months later, Hauteville's first concrete chair was created.

The seat matrix hugs the lower back for wraparound support. The inside of the case is carefully sanded by hand for a smooth, almost silky feel. Caress the exterior of the helmet and you will see that the brutality of the first creative intention has remained intact. The feet are made from 14mm rebar welded to the hull at launch. They provide a slight flex that makes Hauteville concrete chair seats even more comfortable.

When it's beautiful, you don't weigh. But if you really want to know, the chair weighs just over 10kg.

Its geometry makes it extremely stable. But if you still manage to get it loose, don't let your foot get under it!

Drawing a chair is by far the most complicated subject for a designer. Doing it concretely is close to unconsciousness. Achieving a complete collection, from a bar stool to a rocking chair, is great.

Material: Fiberglass reinforced concrete seat. concrete iron legs

Measurements: 64x57x85cm – Weight: 20kg