75 Years of Spaghetti Chairs

The ‘spaghetti garden chairs’ will celebrate their 75th anniversary in 2023. This milestone stands for originality and quality – Embru began manufacturing cord chairs as early as 1948. The deckchair, in particular, is part of Swiss design history – as early as 1964, Max Bill ’s design was awarded the ‘Gute Form’ prize.

What makes a classic?

A classic is defined as a model that has stood the test of time. The Spaghetti garden furniture undoubtedly falls into this category. It has been popular for many years and can be found in countless Swiss gardens. The Altorfer deckchair is characterised by its folding mechanism. This allows it to be stored in a space-saving manner. This feature has always been an integral part of the design. The mechanism has been continuously improved over the years.

Not strictly speaking a designer

Many of Embru’s classic pieces of furniture were created by well-known architects with big names. This is why the Altorf ‘Spaghetti Deckchair’ – one of Embru’s best-known pieces of furniture – is sometimes mistakenly included among them. The Altorfer deckchair, however, is a creation by the son of the company’s director at the time and was therefore not designed by a well-known designer of the era. Nevertheless, it has become incredibly successful. In addition to its enduring success, the Altorfer deckchair is now part of major design collections.

Huldreich Altorfer Junior was born in 1911 and began working at Embru as a young man under his father’s supervision. However, as he was unable to progress further and was denied the opportunity to succeed his father as technical director, he left the Embru works in Rüti in 1945. He founded his own company, Altorfer AG, in the neighbouring village of Wald, which also specialised in metal furniture. It was here that the legendary piece of furniture was created in 1948. The other furniture designs by Altorfer AG remained largely unknown. In 1971, Embru took over Altorfer AG and, with it, the rights to all its designs.