monobloc chair but make it glitter with HFA-studio’s mirror mosaic tile version

Glitter monobloc chair with mirror titles by HFA-studio

Design and creative collective HFA-Studio transforms a common garden chair into a disco-ready and sparkly Glitter Monobloc for the latest exhibition ‘OUT OF OFFICE’ at PLAIN ART in Vienna, Austria. It shines like diamonds, glimmers like a disco ball, and sparkles like silver glitters. It is handcrafted by ¼ of the HFA-Studio collective, Uma Vogl-Fernheim, who pieced together individual mosaic mirror tiles onto the common monobloc chair to make it more festive and eye-catching. No longer just a plain white plastic seat, the Glitter Monobloc Chair is now an exhibition piece as it is set to land at PLAIN ART for the upcoming ‘OUT OF OFFICE’ show.

No longer a ‘basic, inexpensive item’ but ‘an object of desire’

It took HFA-Studio weeks to create their Glitter Monobloc chair with over a thousand mosaic mirror tiles. Meticulous handcrafting was required, and the collective even shared their process in an Instagram post to let the viewers know there’s no machinery or robot involved in the handmade process. The design studio hopes to highlight the common chair’s evolution, from being a ‘basic, inexpensive item’ to ‘an object of desire’.

By doing so, they can put a new spin into what leisure means. They might also invite visitors to their upcoming exhibition at PLAIN ART to think about where they spend their spare time when they need to sit down. ‘It symbolizes the importance of enjoying time outside of work,’ writes HFA-Studio.

WERE Monobloc chairs once banned?

HFA-Studio’s Glitter Monobloc Chair with mosaic mirror tiles may bring back the past stories surrounding the monobloc chair. While the plastic chairs look sturdy and an all-time classic, not all cities have given their thumbs-up to using them, especially in public spaces. Back in 2005, Basel, Switzerland was the first city in the world to impose a ban on using monobloc chairs on public streets, according to a bz report. Over the years, restaurant, shop, and hospitality owners, including landowners, didn’t have a choice but to follow the local government’s policy as they stopped using the plastic monobloc chairs in their properties, BaZ reported.

Not permitting the use of the monobloc chairs was rooted in hoping to make and keep Basel ‘beautiful’ as pro no-monobloc-chairs believed that these are objects that make the city’s landscape unappealing or unattractive. HFA-Studio might be able to turn that around, even swiftly. With the entrance of the Glitter Monobloc Chair, the new generation may see the dubbed ‘unflattering in the landscape’ object for its sparkling beauty through the mosaic mirror tiles, perhaps ushering in a refreshed era of a ‘basic, inexpensive item’ now desired.

project info:

name: Glitter Monobloc Chair

design: HFA-Studio

exhibition name: OUT OF OFFICE

gallery: PLAIN ART

location: Burggasse 47, 1070 Vienna