Jetson '69

recreating one of the 20th century's greatest pieces of furniture design (the attempt of)

Above: money shot. Artwork by René Magritte.

One of my favorites among furniture designers is Bruno Mathsson, and among his best designs is Jetson. It was first presented in the spring of 1966, but it would take until ’69 for the design to reach its true form.

Above: a timelapse of 3Ds Max modelling.

This chair was the result of years of experimentation using steel as a way to create good comfort while using less textile and stripped geometry. There’s a timelessness surrounding it, yet the futuristic and space-inspired elements typical for its time are clearly visible in the design.

Above: technical drawing; spatial inspiration; backdrop; Mathsson in his chair.

While it is sold in several versions, my absolute favorite is flax 21 beige/dakota 24 cognac, which is also the version I chose to model – along with its accompanying footstool. I took the opportunity to do this as a way to get familiar with more advanced geometry in 3Ds Max, accompanied by Mudbox which was used for modelling the cushions. Lighting, texturing, and rendering was done with Corona; post-processing was done in Photoshop. 

Tools used: 3Ds Max, Mudbox, Corona, AutoCAD, Photoshop