Maarten Van Severen studied architecture at the Art Academy in Ghent. He designed his first furniture pieces in 1986 and in the following year established an independent workshop, where he pursued the limited, semi-industrial production of his own furniture designs. This unified process of design and production was long a fundamental aspect of his work, which was devoted to the examination of basic furniture types: chair, table, chaise longue, shelving, cabinet. Van Severen developed primary solutions for these categories based on a comprehensive investigation of the questions of form, material and construction.
In 1990, he began to collaborate closely with Rem Koolhaas and also turned his attention to interior design tasks. During this period he also assumed teaching positions at a variety of institutions, including University College West Flanders in Kortrijk (1996), the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht (1996-97), Delft University of Technology (1998) and universities in Helsinki and Barcelona (2000).
The beginning of Maarten Van Severen's collaboration with Vitra in 1996 marked a new phase in his career. It offered him the opportunity to work with new materials and also brought a much wider degree of exposure and influence. Until his death in 2005 in Ghent, Maarten Van Severen developed a range of new designs for Vitra, which have progressively entered series production.
Backrest and seat flexible backrest with integrated leaf springs. With an integral polyurethane foam seat shell. Shell with upholstered effect, self-supporting on a tubular steel frame.
Base back legs in tubular steel, front legs in aluminium profile, powder- coated or chrome-plated. Stacking and non-stacking versions. Up to 10 chairs can be stacked on the floor. Glides for carpet or felt glides for hard floors.
> mint shell
> dark green shell
> bright red shell
> mango shell
> dark grey shell
> basic dark shell
MAARTEN VAN SEVEREN
The .03 chair designed by Maarten Van Severen may seem very simple in appearance, but it actually provides a great comfort: its foam shell has a structure with leaf springs integrated into its backrest, making it flexible and suitable for all users. Its minimalism and its different finishes allow it to be associated with other colours and models of chairs to form an original and heterogeneous set.
