Design Hunter

The Lady B Armchair by Cécile Maïa Pujol for Roche Bobois


Central St Martins graduate Cécile Maïa Pujol has designed a low seating butterfly shaped armchair created with with relaxation and conversation in mind.

The Lady B armchair was selected as the winning entry in a brief set for MA Industrial Design students by French furniture brand Roche Bobois. The young designers were invited to explore the cultural symbolism of domestic seating and to develop new insights into how people use seating in their living space.

"The brief was really free," said Cécile, "so we could really express ourselves and our creativity. The basic principle is that there are two wings on which you can sit, so it's a new kind of position, a position that faciliates dialogue and encourages people to interact with each other."

The plywood structured chair, which is upholstered in wool fabric, has a curved back designed to encourage the user to sit side-on, opening them up to people in the room and promoting sociability.

"Lady B is a contemporary interpretation of the conversation chair," said MA course co-ordinator Matt Malpas. "The butterfly-shaped asymmetrical silhouette of the chair invites the sitter to try different resting positions. Pujol’s insight is grounded in observations into the ways that design can influence social interaction."

The chair was selected as the winning design by Roche Bobois in conjunction with a jury of design journalists and industry professionals. It has now been put into production and will be available in a range of colours from this autumn.

To mark the design's release, and the wider project behind it, design magazine Disegno collaborated with Roche Bobois to create a short film about the evolution of the chair.

The Lady B Armchair by Cécile Maïa Pujol for Roche Bobois from Disegno magazine on Vimeo.

Posted in collaboration with Disegno.

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