188 - Peter Heuvelmans

Peter Heuvelmans Folding armchair Gray-stained wood, metal, foam, and woven fabric Prototype Netherlands, late 20th century H77 W89 D72 cm; seat height 40 cm A label marked “ARCA” is attached to the fabric. In good original vintage condition, showing signs of age and use. The woven fabric has been carefully mended in several places on the seat. These visible repairs have been preserved and contribute to the chair’s unique character and history. A rare prototype folding armchair by Dutch architect and interior designer Peter Heuvelmans. The armchair combines a gray-stained wooden frame with generously proportioned cushions upholstered in a fabric with a remarkable weave. Its subtle pattern, rendered in soft shades of red, gray, and natural tones, creates a refined contrast with the cool, gray finish of the wood. Red piping adds a distinctive accent along the edges of the cushions. The metal armrests are not merely decorative but serve as an essential structural element, connecting and holding the folding wooden frame together. Despite its imposing appearance, the armchair can be folded almost completely flat. The frame folds into a compact vertical shape, while the loose cushions can be removed separately. This inventive construction reflects Heuvelmans’s signature experimental approach to furniture design, combining comfort, spatial efficiency, and technical ingenuity. Peter Heuvelmans is a Dutch architect, interior designer, and furniture designer. After gaining practical experience at his father’s furniture factory in Brazil and studying in São Paulo and the Netherlands, he founded his own firm in 1968. He became known for his expressive and unconventional interiors and furniture, notably his monumental Kasbah cabinet for Pastoe, which was presented at the Utrecht Furniture Fair in 1981. This armchair was created as a prototype and was not produced in a regular commercial run. An expressive and highly unusual prototype, combining an ingenious folding mechanism with a particularly tactile upholstery fabric. A Dutch architect and interior designer, Peter Heuvelmans trained at his father’s furniture factory in Brazil and studied in São Paulo and the Netherlands before founding his own firm in 1968. He made a name for himself with expressive and unconventional furniture, including the monumental Kasbah cabinet for Pastoe, unveiled in 1981. This prototype, which was never mass-produced, reveals his ingenuity: despite its imposing appearance, the armchair folds down almost flat, with the metal armrests ensuring the structural integrity of the folding mechanism. The fabric, featuring a red, gray, and natural pattern accented with red piping, retains visible mending marks that are part of its history.