Eero Aarnio developed the Ball Chair in 1963, exploring fiberglass as a material for furniture. An early drawing is dated 11 January of that year. The curved shell creates a small enclosure around the sitter, with a circular opening cut into the sphere. A pedestal raises this rounded body above the floor and leaves its outline uninterrupted.
The first prototype required practical experiments with the shell’s strength. Aarnio reinforced the opening with a pipe ring laminated into the fiberglass, allowing the body to remain relatively light. Upholstery covers the inner surface and turns the hard outer form into a sitting space. The resulting object combines an industrial shell with the padded interior of an easy chair.
Asko presented the design at the Cologne furniture fair in 1966, bringing it to an international audience. Its enclosed form explains much of its effect in an interior: the occupant faces outward through one opening while the remaining shell screens the surroundings. Aarnio’s later experiments with transparent and freely shaped plastics developed other ways of defining such personal spaces.
PastiIIi or Gyro chair by Eero Aarnio
