L07 Elm Daybed by Pierre Chapo for Charlotte Perriand, 1963, France

Pierre Chapo, L07 extendable daybed or bench, France, 1963 This ingenious piece could also be used as a bench, even further my preferred option is for it to be used as a coffee table. Rare first production L07 extendable daybed sofa designed by Pierre Chapo and manufactured in his own atelier, France 1963. This super nice and technical masterpiece was from the very first production which had the visible dowel connections of how the slats were attached to the frame. The later ones have this connection invisible, probably because it was much easier to make like that. The daybed is made of solid elm wood and can be turned from a 2 persons bet to a 2 persons bed by extending it due to an ingeinous sliding mechanism. Beautiful hand crafted bed by one of the most important French designers of his era. Pierre Chapo belongs in the same list of designers as Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouve. His work has been highly sought after and this bed is one of the reasons why. Its sophisticated structure with architectural mechanism is unique in its kind. In 1963 Chapo had the idea to create a modular structure that allows to be transformed from a bench or single daybed into a daybed for two people. The clever system lets two slatted benches to be moved apart up to a depth of 140cm without mechanical intervention. Pierre Chapo (1927-1987) was born in a family of craftsmen and trained as an architect in Paris. After spending many years traveling through south and North America he and his partner Nicole set up Société Chapo, an architectural research consultancy and interior design firm. In 1958, they opened their famous gallery at 14 Boulevard de l’Hopital. Chapo’s work originated by means of special commissions that could later be adapted to universal needs. Chapo was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s balanced lines, Corbusier’s research on proportions and Bauhaus. Société Chapo was a design workshop and gallery in one where Nicole presented ceramics, textiles and other design by the great designers of the day. The three principles that motivated Pierre Chapo were ‘material, form, and function.’ He measured his furniture by means of golden ratio and used elmwood as his preferred material.