Concrete Loop Chair Willy Guhl
Vintage 1950s Brazilian International Style Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Concrete, Cement
Early 2000s Swiss End Tables
Cement
Vintage 1950s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1970s French Space Age Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Mid-20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete, Steel
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Brutalist Planters and Jardinieres
Concrete
Vintage 1950s French Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Late 20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Stools
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Footstools
Concrete
Recent Sales
Vintage 1950s European Lounge Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1950s Swiss Industrial Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Stools
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Mid-Century Modern Stools
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Concrete, Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Chairs
Concrete
Late 20th Century European Bauhaus Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Rocking Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Mid-20th Century Swiss Chairs
Concrete
Mid-20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
2010s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1970s Brazilian Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Late 20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Late 20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Vintage 1970s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Mid-20th Century Swiss Minimalist Armchairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s French Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Cement
Vintage 1950s Swiss Lounge Chairs
Mid-20th Century Swiss Lounge Chairs
Stone
Vintage 1950s Swiss Armchairs
Cement
Vintage 1950s Swiss Armchairs
Cement
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Fiberglass, Ceramic
Vintage 1950s Swiss Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cement
Mid-20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Concrete
Vintage 1950s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
2010s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
Vintage 1960s Swiss Patio and Garden Furniture
Cement
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers an...
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Foam
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Velvet, Wood, Ebony
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Organic Modern Center Tables
Travertine
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Colombian Organic Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak, Cedar
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Fiberglass, Linen, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Sofas
Velvet, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Swiss Wall Mirrors
Cement
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights an...
Enamel, Brass
Vintage 1950s Swiss Planters and Jardinieres
Cement
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Iron
Vintage 1960s Swiss Brutalist Garden Ornaments
Concrete, Cement
Vintage 1950s Italian Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Suede, Rosewood
Concrete Loop Chair Willy Guhl For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Concrete Loop Chair Willy Guhl?
Willy Guhl for sale on 1stDibs
Decades prior to the mass popularity of neo-industrial cement floors and furniture taking shape, there was Willy Guhl. The Swiss creative is considered one of the first “industrial” designers in his home country. He pioneered a rugged, organic style of modern furniture and decor — stylish planters, shapely seating and lots more — that remains widely coveted by many today.
Guhl was born in 1915 in Stein am Rhein and worked as a carpenter before beginning studies at the Zurich School of Applied Arts (known today as the Zurich University of the Arts), where he would go on to teach for nearly 40 years.
While Guhl is well-known for his range of provocative garden elements as well as his patio and outdoor furniture, today’s legion of mid-century modern enthusiasts are likely familiar with the designer’s iconic Loop chair (introduced in 1954). For this sculptural seat and other furnishings, Guhl tended toward industrial materials, which he bent and shaped into organic forms for a striking juxtaposition. Much of his work is crafted from either concrete or Eternit, a mixture of cement and asbestos developed by the Belgian company Etex, which, in the 1950s, commissioned Guhl and his students at the School of Applied Arts to conceive planters in the material. The resulting vessels — some hourglass-shaped, some in the form of handkerchiefs, all suitable for indoors or exteriors — remain some of Guhl’s most collectible pieces.
Guhl’s affiliation with the Swiss “neo-functional” movement centered on the idea of simplifying design without sacrificing form. According to Guhl, his mission was “achieving the most with the minimum of effort.”
In addition to his work as a designer, Guhl left his mark on subsequent creatives through his 39-year tenure at his alma mater, where he was instructor to the likes of Robert Haussmann, Kurt Thut and Bruno Rey. Modern-day shoppers at IKEA owe Guhl a debt of gratitude too. He was an early advocate of flat-pack furniture, championing its ability to make good design more widely accessible.
At its core, though, Guhl’s work was inherently human-centric: “At the center of my efforts, I put people and their living requirements,” he once said. “My products must be useful to people.” Guhl died in 2004 at the age of 89.
Find a range of vintage Willy Guhl furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.