Hauteville Stool

Hauteville stool, designed by Henri Lavallard-Boget and Julie Legros, for Lyon Béton.

Raw material. Sensual curves. Amazing comfort.

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

When designers Henri Lavallard-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 sanitarium in Hauteville, they find the shell of a resin chair, 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, chips and corrosive concrete, scratches and stiffness. To experiment is to play alchemists. Become the parent of curiosities called failures, but which sometimes lead to beautiful surprises. Raw material, gray matter. The material of the housing and that of the building. The first prototypes were abused to test their long-term mechanical resistance, exaggerated weight and generous bodies, brutalities and dangerous balances, thermal shocks, frost in the scorching sun. A few months later, the first Hauteville concrete chair was created.

The seat matrix hugs the lower back for enveloping support. The inside of the case is carefully hand sanded for a smooth, almost silky feel. Stroke the outside of the helmet and you will see that the brutality of the first creative intention has remained intact. The feet are made of 14mm rebar welded to the hull at launch. They provide a slight flexibility 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 only a little over 10kg.

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

Drawing a chair is by far the most complicated subject for a designer. Doing it specifically 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

Available in 2 sizes: Small: 45.5x45x82cm - Seat height 66cm - Weight: 11kg Large: 44.5x43x98cm - Seat height 77cm - Weight: 12kg