Airbag
By Pasi Kolhonen and Ilkka Suppanen
Finnish designers Pasi Kolhonen and Ilkka Suppanen in the mid 1990s designed the versatile seating furniture Airbag, using synthetic materials primarily used in the fashion and outdoors industries. Airbag’s aesthetic and functionality spoke to a young generation eager to enter the World Wide Web in a relaxed horisontal position, and it foresaw the many versions of hybrid beanbags that later dropped on the market. Airbag connects to the radical Italian design of the 1960-80s, but without the irony. The enlarged cushion, which constitute the entire furniture, is a play with scale. Further, the fact that you can attach multiple Airbag’s with its straps – so people can share on big mattress – gives it social relevance. Airbag was first produced by Netsurfer Ltd and was a part of the ground breaking exhibition Snowcrash in 1997 during Salone del Mobile. Between 1999-2003 Airbag was produced by the company Snowcrash and came with grey, yellow, black, or dark blue straps. Airbag is represented in numerous museum collections around the globe such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (Photos by Jens Andersson)
Edition: Snowcrash production 1999-2003
Condition: Boxfresh
Materials: 100% Nylon upholstery cover, reinforced fibreglass back supports, polyester straps, polystrene filling
Dimensions: Chair Height 800, width850, depth 800mm, Mattress Height 250, width 1550, width 850 mm
Design: 1996