Designed by Ron Arad 1981
Industrial designer, Ron Arad for his first piece of furniture design, combined two existing – but separate – pieces of car seating and a tubular frame to become the postmodernist Rover chair. The components were obtained from a scrapyard in North London’s Chalk Farm,
The red leather seat came from a Rover P6 which was produced from 1963 to 1977 and if a 2000 cc engine was installed it was often known as the “Rover 2000”. The chair is held by a black painted curved steel frame – which history tells us came from a Kee Klamp milking stall built by Gascoignes in Reading since the early 1930’s
In 1981 you could buy an Arad Rover chair for £99.00 with originals now commanding thousands at auction.
Many of our followers will recognise the Rover chair from its prominence on the set of BBC TV’s “Top Gear” where it has appeared since 1988.
PS. I have recently been advised that the Green Chairs as used in “Top Gear” are not in fact Rover or Arad chairs. They are either Wolsey or Austin. Although they are regarded as being “after Arad” they appear not to be originals!
aestheticons.wordpress.com 