Photography © Fogia
A dinner at Maaemo in Oslo lasts for hours, and for good reason. But what you actually sit on for those precious hours is also an important part of the overall three-Michelin-star experience. Something Esben Holmboe Bang, chef and co-owner of Maaemo, was well aware of.
Until recently, the restaurant has been home to the Bollo Armchair, designed by Andreas Engesvik for Swedish furniture manufacturer Fogia, and has probably played no small part in making it rather world-famous. But having helped make Bollo something of a design icon, Esben felt it was time for something a little more exclusive to Maaemo. And who better to turn to than the original designer for a new take on what might just be the comfiest dining chair ever made?
The result is Flora, developed over eighteen months by Oslo-based design studio Grung Engesvik, in collaboration with Holmboe Bang and Swedish furniture manufacturer Fogia. The brief was relatively straightforward albeit ambitious: To make the world's best dining chair. One that would offer the comfort of an armchair without compromising the proportions and practicality of a dining chair, and withstand the demands of a restaurant where guests remain seated for hours.
The new design marries the properties of a dining chair and an armchair, combining a generously proportioned seat with a surprisingly slim upholstered back and slender tubular steel frame. The rear legs curve upwards to form the armrests, creating a continuous, unbroken line that gives Flora its distinctive profile. But much of the chair's comfort comes from the flexibility of the steel construction itself, allowing it to respond naturally to the body's movements.
As Andreas Engesvik explains, "It doesn’t resist your movements; it affirms them." A rather useful quality when dinner is expected to last three or four hours.
“It doesn’t resist your movements; it affirms them.”
As one would expect, everything from the ingredients to the interiors forms part of the dining experience at Maaemo, and the furniture is no exception. And while Flora was conceived specifically for the restaurant, the chair has now joined Fogia's permanent collection, making it available for considerably less elaborate dinners at home. So, bon appétit.
