Mid 20th Century Artek Alvar Aalto Model E60 Stool Oak + Birch

Design Plus Gallery presents an Artek Model E60 Birch Stool with Four Bent Knee Legs. Designed by Alvar Aalto, developing the “bent-knee” technique for making furniture. It involves a solid piece of birch soaked and softened in water and then sawed open in the direction of the wood grain. Afterward, thin slats of wood are glued into the grooves, and the wood is heated so that it becomes malleable. The bent-knee process, which has changed little since its inception, yielded the “L-leg” that Aalto initially had in mind for this stool. Four L-legs were mounted to the underside of the flat, circular plywood seat of the stool in the Turku factory, but Aalto’s innovation had applications for tables and a lot more. The furniture maker called the L-leg “the little sister of the architectural column. Good vintage condition is shown in this stool, rich patina consistent with age and use.