The ubiquitous monobloc chair and its Canadian origin story | Canada Voices

During the 2026 Super Bowl, pop idol Ricky Martin made a cameo during Bad Bunny’s halftime show, singing in front of two white garden chairs. With over 140 million people watching, the product placement had the potential to make the seats famous – except, arguably, they were already as iconic as the celebrities on stage. Even if someone has never heard the term “monobloc chair,” chances are they’ve seen, sat on or owned one.

Bad Bunny ostensibly chose monoblocs because they are a common sight across his home of Puerto Rico. Similar versions, with fanning backs, can be found at family picnics and dotting the island’s beaches. (Two monobloc chairs also appear on the cover of his latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.)

Monoblocs, however, are a Canadian invention – one that has, through several twists of fate, become an international phenomenon. Germany’s Vitra Design Museum, which houses one of the world’s most comprehensive furniture collections, calls the monobloc the “most widely used piece of furniture in the world.” It is impossible to know how many have been sold globally, but some estimates suggest there are more than one billion in Europe alone.

The word “monobloc” refers to the way the chairs are fashioned, using a single, continuous piece of plastic. To experts, their popularity is underpinned by their convenience and their price.

“The jointlessness of the monobloc is quite appealing,” says Jeffrey Thorsteinson, an architectural historian at the University of Manitoba. “They don’t have bolts that need to be tightened. They are easy to wipe down and don’t require staining or cause splinters, like wooden chairs. And if one breaks, you can buy a new one for 15 or 20 bucks at Canadian Tire.”

Such features were likely not on the minds of the original inventors, two young architects from the Prairies – D.C. Simpson and A.J. Donahue. In the mid-1940s, they were hired by Canada’s National Research Council. Their mission was to repurpose wartime technologies to create new household goods.

By 1946, they had developed the world’s first plastic chair by moulding epoxy resins, a material that had been developed to make airplanes lighter. As a finish, they used the same white paint that coated de Havilland Mosquito bombers.

The chair, which had a matching side table, was displayed at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa as part of a show called Design in Industry. Unfortunately, the chair was too avant-garde. “Other than moulded radios and some tables, plastics were not common in homes,” says Thorsteinson. “A writeup in Canadian Homes and Gardens about the chair cautioned people about plastic, saying it can melt.”

As a result, the chair was never produced. “The original, with its solid, square back, was modern and elegant,” says Gregg Simpson, an artist, musician and the son of D.C. Simpson. “But I have never seen one in person. There weren’t any in our home growing up. As far as I know, there aren’t any left in existence.”

Simpson and Donahue applied for a patent, but it was denied for unknown reasons. “It’s interesting to speculate what could have happened had the patent been successful,” says Thorsteinson. “Perhaps Simpson and Donahue could have sat back and collected millions of dollars. Maybe Vitra would be a Canadian thing.”

In addition to operating the aforementioned design museum, Vitra is a top European furniture manufacturer. The company’s success is partly built on producing moulded plastic chairs, including modern classics such as the Eames Shell Chair and the Panton Chair – both developed after the original monobloc.

“I actually wonder if it’s the open-source nature of the design that allowed it to proliferate,” says Keith Doyle, an associate dean and associate professor of industrial design at Vancouver’s Emily Carr University of Art + Design. “That’s partly what allowed so many other designers to experiment with the idea.”

Doyle points to a version designed in 1972 by French engineer Henry Massonnet. Whereas the Simpson-Donahue chair was finicky and time-consuming to make, Massonnet invented a process that could turn out a monobloc in less than two minutes. “Massonnet didn’t patent his chair either,” says Doyle.

Massonnet’s version, called the Fauteuil 300, was introduced during a global oil shock. The price of plastics was high. It wasn’t until the 1980s, when prices dropped, that the monobloc truly started to gain traction.

“Their ubiquity is kind of astounding,” says Doyle. “They can be found at weddings and funerals and garden parties. It’s hard to think of another design with the same versatility.”

For all their popularity, monoblocs are also controversial. Basel, Switzerland, banned them in public spaces between 2008 and 2017 out of concern they would detract from the city’s charm. There are also numerous environmental concerns.

“Without a patent, anyone can manufacture them,” says Howard Munroe, an associate professor of industrial design at OCAD University in Toronto. “They are often made with very cheap polypropylene that breaks down in UV light. The legs crack easily and they end up in landfills.”

To Munroe, Canada should aspire to more with its designs. “As a country, we are blessed with so many resources,” he says. “How can we start to really make Canada a powerhouse in terms of manufacturing and design? I think one of the ways to do that is to build things that last for 50 or 100 years, not just for a summer or two.”

Three buys to try

Designers in Canada and abroad continue to experiment with monobloc chairs. Here are three contemporary takes.

Magis Bell Chair

Italian brand Magis makes its Bell chairs using 100 per cent post-industrial waste. To prevent cracking, the legs are reinforced with fibreglass.

Buy

Hauser Tidal Lounge Chair

The Tidal Lounge Chair, made in Canada by Waterloo, Ont.-based Hauser, uses UV-resistant plastic to keep the appearance looking crisp.

Buy

Moss Stackable Plastic Chair

Moss, an outdoor furniture brand based in Châteauguay, Que., was inspired by sleek Scandinavian lines for its Stackable Plastic Chair – a bold departure from the ubiquitous version.

Buy