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Object Timeline

1990

  • Work on this object began.

2003

  • We acquired this object.

2007

2015

2024

  • You found it!

W.W. Stool

This is a stool. It was designed by Philippe Starck and manufactured by Vitra AG. It is dated 1990 and we acquired it in 2003. Its medium is sand-cast and enameled aluminum. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Phillipe Starck, the son of an aircraft designer, has frequently turned to aluminum as an expressive and durable design medium. He created the WW stool as part of a fantasy office environment for the German film director, Wim Wenders. This highly sculptural, organic form, a single piece of sand-cast aluminum finished in turquoise enamel, serves as a stool or a support while standing. The sand-casting technique was used to great advantage, resulting in a long, slender, flowing form. Vitra AG has produced the stool in a limited series since 1992.
Starck has been designing since the late 1960s, when he worked for various companies including Pierre Cardin. He gained notoriety in the early 1980s when he was appointed to design a room in President Francois Mitterand’s quarters in the Élysée Palace. In 1984, he achieved international prominence, virtually overnight, with his design of the Café Costes and the Costes chair produced by Driade. Since then, he has continued to be regarded as a leader of contemporary French design. His works include full interiors, their furnishings, table-top wares in a variety of media, and utilitarian items such as juicers and toothbrushes.

It is credited The Linda and Irwin R. Berman Stool Collection.

  • Mezzadro Stool
  • lacquered metal, chrome-plated bent steel, beechwood.
  • Gift of International Contract Furninshings, Inc..
  • 1978-144-1

Our curators have highlighted 4 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Fulfillment Necklace
  • carved and painted maple, gold-plated brass; painted wood, plexiglass (case).
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-71-a,b

Its dimensions are

H: 97 x W: 56 x D: 53 cm (38 3/16 x 22 1/16 x 20 7/8 in.)

Cite this object as

W.W. Stool; Designed by Philippe Starck (French, b. 1949); Manufactured by Vitra AG (Switzerland); Switzerland; sand-cast and enameled aluminum; H: 97 x W: 56 x D: 53 cm (38 3/16 x 22 1/16 x 20 7/8 in.); The Linda and Irwin R. Berman Stool Collection; 2003-23-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Looking Forward/ Looking Back: Recent Acquisitions in 20th- and 21st-Century Design.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18699323/ |title=W.W. Stool |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=16 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>