After being out of the production line for several decades, Carl Hansen & Søn started producing Hans J. Wegner’s CH22 lounge chair again in 2016. At first glance, one may notice the Wegner chair’s large, distinctive wooden back with visible cover caps, but on closer inspection of the chair, more Wegner signature details become apparent. On the sides, you will see, for example, that the arm support is embracing the side stretcher and the seat frame only to expand to full width under the armrest, to give it optimum support. In the back, the seat’s paper cords are led down around the seat frame and through a horizontal groove in the back rail. There are two refined joints on the front of the seat where the front legs are led up through the hand assembled corners.
Although the production naturally has been modernized, today, CH22 is still manufactured using the same principles of craftsmanship as when Wegner followed and participated in manufacturing the first examples at Carl Hansen’s family-owned workshop in 1950. In the meantime, modernization has improved precision so that the front legs, which were originally manufactured round, can now have the same profile as the back legs of the chair. This means that they are now made as Wegner had originally drawn them on his technical drawing which was that the legs should be brought up through the seat frame and locked using wedges.
