Iconic Botolo Chair Resurfaces

The Botolo chair’s molded polyurethane foam seat, uphol­stered in fabric, leather, or fur, contrasts with the smooth lacquered metal supports to form a delight­ful chair with a strik­ing person­al­ity. Rein­tro­duced by Arflex in 2014, the groovy furnish­ing has since had a chance to influ­ence a new set of design aficionados.

One person who has been capti­vated by Botolo is John Pawson, an archi­tect known for his breath­tak­ing mini­mal­ist forms. For the Jaffa hotel in Israel, recently featured on the cover of Inte­rior Design, Pawson departs from his signa­ture restrained style in a few key instances. A sea of dark yellow Botolo chairs with white legs deco­rate the bar and lounge, located in the chapel of the former 19th-century hospi­tal that now houses the hotel. The setup creates a wonder­ful juxta­po­si­tion between the grand histor­i­cal space and the über-playful modern chairs.