Xavier Pauchard

Xavier Pauchard

Xavier Pauchard

Xavier Pauchard

Xavier Pauchard was born in Le Morvan in 1880 in France from a family that traditionally made roofs made of zinc. In 1907 Xavier realized that in order to defend the metal from rust, he could immerse it in zinc or subject it to galvanization.

These biographical traits are important because they represent the harbingers of what Xavier later achieved, that is, he founded a metal houseware factory and called it Tolix, the name by which the company is still renowned.

In 1934, he designed the Tolix A Chair, in galvanized metal, suitable for any climate, even for the outside, with holes for water to drain. Chair A soon became popular not only in cafes, but also in hospitals, factories and offices. According to many users, the design of chair A had a defect, it did not foresee that the chairs were stackable, a problem solved in the final version that allowed the famous chair to be stacked to form a 2,3 meter high tower.

Tolix remained the property of the Pauchard family until 2004, when on the brink of bankruptcy it was taken over by Chantal Andriot. Today this company is still productive and its chair is still on display at the MOMA in New York, at the Pompidou Center in Paris and at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein in Germany.


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