In 2023, the 90th anniversary of Paimio Sanatorium will be celebrated. In honor of the anniversary, Artek launched festive versions of well-known products, which are available in limited quantities. One of the products that received a special batch is the three-legged 60 stool, which you can enjoy for a while in beautiful shades of sky blue, forest green and sun yellow. These shades have been selected from the original color palette of the Paimio sanatorium, created by Alvar Aalto and Eino Kauria. All colors also had a great meaning for the patients, as the proximity of the forest (green), clean air (blue) and sunlight (yellow) were considered to play an important role during the treatment. By buying Paimio's anniversary stool, you are helping to support the Paimio sanatorium foundation. Artek donates 30 euros to the foundation for every 60 stools sold in Paimio's jubilee year.
The Artek 60 stool is designed by Alvar Aalto, a diamond of Finnish furniture design. The design of the beautiful L-legged stool never gets old. In addition to the seat, the 3-legged stool can also be conveniently used as a side table next to a bed or an armchair, for example. It also works as a spare seat and several stools stack beautifully into a rotating tower.
At the end of the 1920s, the architect and designer Alvar Aalto started experimenting with bending wood. Together with the furniture manufacturer Otto Korhonen, Aalto developed a pioneering process, which resulted in the L-leg. The iconic leg is created by cutting slits in a piece of wood below the bending point, to which wooden slats are glued. Aalto called the L-leg your little sister of the architectural column. Long-standing traditions in furniture production were interrupted when Aalto patented the technology in 1933. Durable and solid furniture was now made from organic wood material.