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Poldersofa

by Hella Jongerius
Label: Vitra

Year: 2005

In Holland “Polder” refers to the artificial land reclaimed from the sea by means of dikes and drainage canals. The body of the Polder Sofa is just as low-lying, just as flat, and has just as much emphasis on the horizontal.

When the Polder sofa was introduced in 2005 is was an instant international hit. In 2012 Vitra introduced the limited Maharam version. For this edition, Jongerius combined six textiles from the Maharam collection, putting into use some of her own most recent designs.

Hella Jongerius her work often blurs the borders between design and handicrafts, or art and technology. “I try to combine discoveries from the archives with contemporary patterns and techniques”, says Hella Jongerius about the Polder design. The sofa combines high-tech and handicraft, retrospection and the present.

Hella Jongerius, an expert on colour, designed the Polder Sofa in five different colour shades: “One colour isn’t a colour. Only when different colours stand in relation to each other can the true quality of the various shades be seen. Even the slightest of changes can have a dramatic effect.”