The History of Plastic Design — and a Tour of the ADAM Design Museum
Whats ADAM design museum?
For people who don’t know, ADAM design museum is one of the most epic places to visit. If (like myself) you have a keen interest for 20th and 21st century design, this should be a place to visit on your design bucket list. The museum offers a superb collection , originally owned by Philippe Decelle, who accumulated a wonderful array of prototypes, works of art, everyday consumer products and major pieces of importance. Its based in the beautiful city of Brussels and is just a 5 minute walk away from the famous Atomium, which is an extraordinary structure built in 1957 and is definitely worth a visit! 😁
The popularity of plastic
Having first been commercially invented in 1907, the 20th century saw the start of a huge demand for plastic (though we were, at the time unfortunately unaware of the devastating impact this demand would have on our fragile environment). Plastic was part of the economic boom and coincided with the start of a generation who rejected their parents traditional views and fashions. The need and desire for inexpensive materials reflected the baby boomers call for freedom, and plastic furniture, accessories, lighting, electronics, dinnerware and even clothing was produced in its millions. The swinging sixties was a new era, unlike anything the world had seen before — they were relaxed, lighthearted, less constrained and certainly less conservative! This was probably due to the end of the post war depression and it was now time for people to enjoy themselves, if you know what I mean!
The impact of plastic
The golden era of plastic continued all the way through till 1973, the year of the oil crisis. Plastic nowadays is constantly being reappraised and renewed and we are now able to recycle most plastics. This however, does not make it a material which we should use in the quantities we are doing. Its a material which is has a huge environmental impact on our world and we should all consciously be using alternatives where ever possible. Okay, rant over (I’ll save this for another blog), now let’s talk about the furniture….
The Universale Chair — Joe Colombo
The famous Universale Chair by Joe Columbo greets you as you enter the first room. Designed in 1965 — the first chair to ever be cast using only one piece of ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic. Originally the chair was going to be made using aluminium, but with the popularity and relatively cheapness of plastic, Columbo opted to use ABS instead. Upon completion of the prototype in 1967, manufacturer Kartell launched the production process and the chairs were produced in their thousands. It was a hugely popular design due to its pop art style, huge range of colours, multipurpose use and stack-able, space saving nature.
Red and yellow and pink and green….
One of the main things I love about 20th century plastic furniture is the wonderful array of colours, something you see everywhere you turn at ADAM design museum. I love bright colour, it makes me happy, whether it’s in furniture, food, fashion or nature. If you’re reading this and love mid century furniture like I do, I would imagine you’re the same! Furniture with a bit of colour is a great way to add character and personality to a room, and plastic furniture gives even more of an opportunity to do so. For the majority of plastic furniture from this era, the edges are curved instead of angular giving a more playful, childlike feel to the design. Not only will it make you smile every time you see it, its also extremely practical, versatile and great if you have young children! Don’t get me wrong, its certainly not to everyone’s taste, and it is not necessarily the easiest thing to make it look right in your home, but it’s fun to be daring and a little different — go out and find that piece of furniture which will add a bit of colour and happiness to your life!
From mahogany to Bakelite to plastic
Entertainment has evolved immensely over the past decade. Only 100 years ago, the family’s main source of entertainment was gathering round an oak cased record player and listening to classical music. Then saw the creation of Bakelite (the first form of plastic) which offered the first radios and later on, televisions. The ADAM museum displays a great collection of electrical’s made from plastic-ranging from some of the first radios and record players to more modern laptops and phones.
Human inspired seating
One of the more bizarre collection of pieces exhibited in the museum was the group of seating which was all based on the human form. My favourite was the “Man Chair”, designed by Ruth Francken, completely tearing down the boundaries between sculpture and functional object. It was designed and created in 1971 and was made by directly applying plastercast onto a male model and then making it into a functional chair. My girlfriend described the chair as “creepy”as it resembles a seated male without the face however in my opinion, despite it being a little odd, it is one of the more clever, thought provoking designs housed in the museum.
The cantilever chair
Nearly a century after its creation, tubular steel remains the prime choice for cantilever chairs — cantilever meaning, rather than having the traditional four legs, the chair is supported at the front by one or two legs which are then bent backwards in an “L” shape. Marcel Breuer (designer of the Chesca chair) being perhaps the master of this design technique, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Brno chair) and Alvar Aalto (Model 31) are also historical figures who contributed to the popularity of this type of chair.
But where did the plastic cantilever chair come from? Even if you were not familiar with mid century furniture, it would be hard not to recognise the S chair designed by Verner Panton — iconic in every way and as such has been reproduced in its millions over the years. The next design in our line of Cantilevers — after a few copies of the S chair — was the Selle chair (the red chair in the middle), designed by Jean Dudon . Many other chairs have hit the market in recent years, but for me the Myto chair (the last red chair on the right), designed in 2006 by German designer Constantin Grcic is one of the most innovative designs since the S chair. Its made using liquid plastic “Ultradur High Speed” more commonly used in the car industry but lesser known in the furniture market. It was made using only one cast and has all three qualities a cantilever chair needs; light, resistant and flexible. Not only is it a fantastic design, it is also 100% recyclable!
You’re never too old for toys right?
Certainly not these ones anyway. Plastic changed the world of toys, it offered designers an alternative to the usual materials like tin, wood or metal. Some toys that were initially designed for children, are now worthy participants in the design world. Take the Eames elephant for example — was designed for kids to play with, yet a sweet baby blue one sits proudly in my living room and is one of my favourite purchases. Or how about the famous Eero Aarnio puppy, is it a sculpture? A stool? A toy? The beauty of its design means it can be whatever you want it to be and can be kept wherever you want it to be, including sat in my sister’s garden to keep her real dog Albert company.
I’ve touched briefly on my personal favourite bits of the ADAM design museum but believe me, there’s plenty more. If you do happen to be in Brussels and love design, then it is 100% worth a visit, but make sure to set aside a couple of hours as there’s some pieces that you will probably never see again!
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My name is James Broad, antique & curio enthusiast turned entrepreneur. I buy, restore & sell beautiful things for homes & commercial interiors. For more information, check out my About Me page; for products, have a look at my Inventory & for anything else, well, just click on the big CONTACT button.