Chair Arch
The Wallpaper* Chair Arch in situ, in the John Madejski garden at the V and A
The Wallpaper* Chair Arch, designed by Martino Gamper, sponsored by Ercol. Photography by Jonathan de Villiers.
A chair arch from 1877 when Queen Victoria went through High Wycombe on her way to visiting Hughenden Manor.
Initial rendering of the Wallpaper* Chair Arch, from above
Initial rendering of the Wallpaper* Chair Arch
Watercolour drawing of the chair arch by Atelier One, the engineers behind the arch's construction
Ercol's classic stacking chair, designed in 1957 by Lucian Ercolani was revived in 2002 by Margaret Howell.
Stacking gets under way at the Ercol factory near High Wycombe
Designer Martino Gamper sprays the chairs
One of the two arches is made up of chairs spray painted in the colours of the rainbow
All painted, the chairs are assembled in sections in the Ercol factory
The sections are then laid out on the floor of the factory, awaiting transportation to the V and A
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Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
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