Nearly eight decades after its creation, the C-Chair by Marcel Gascoin returns in a new form, one that gently expands the life of this modernist classic beyond the dining room. Presented by GUBI in an outdoor edition, the chair carries forward the quiet intelligence of Gascoin’s design while adapting it to the rhythms of contemporary outdoor living, from shaded terraces to garden tables and hospitality spaces.
First conceived in 1947 for a postwar housing project in France, the C-Chair emerged from a moment when design was called upon to respond to new social realities. Gascoin, who grew up in a family of mariners, was deeply influenced by the compact efficiency of life aboard ships, where every element must serve a purpose and space is treated as a precious resource. His furniture translated this sensibility into the domestic sphere, proposing forms that were modest in scale yet rich in intention, objects designed not to dominate a room but to support everyday life with clarity and precision.
The outdoor edition remains faithful to this philosophy. Its silhouette retains the slender proportions and balanced geometry that define the original, while the materials have been carefully reconsidered to meet the demands of life outdoors. The seat and backrest are handwoven in a high performance reinterpretation of traditional French cane, preserving the lightness and visual transparency that give the chair its distinctive character. The weave, drawn tightly into the frame through a refined tennis racket technique, creates a surface that feels both delicate and resilient.
Supporting the woven structure is a frame crafted from solid teak, a material long valued for its strength, stability, and natural resistance to the elements. Over time the wood develops a soft silvery patina, allowing the chair to age gracefully within its surroundings.
A contemporary of figures such as Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier, Gascoin believed that good design should improve daily life through honesty, efficiency, and human scale. With this outdoor edition, the C-Chair continues to express that ethos, proving that modernism’s most enduring ideas remain quietly relevant, whether inside the home or beneath the open sky.
