Rey Chair by Bruno Rey

The Rey chair measures 44 cm wide and 49 cm deep, with a height of 80 cm. The seat and backrest shell are made of molded beech veneer, the base of solid beech, and the whole is finished with water-based lacquer. The edges are rounded and the joints are intentionally thick: this is a chair designed for restaurant dining rooms and cafeterias before being intended for dining rooms. It is stackable, which matters when you line up eight around a table and want to be able to store half of them.

Ten finishes are available: eight opaque lacquers, from deep black to eucalyptus green, and two wood stains, light wood and dark wood, which leave the beech grain visible instead of covering it. Each is available with standard gliders or felt gliders: felt protects parquet and hard floors, while the standard version is suitable for tiles and soft floors. This is the only difference between the two references.

The screwless assembly, the 1971 discovery

The secret to the Rey chair's success is not visible at first glance: the legs are not screwed into the seat, but are held in die-cast aluminum brackets that create the connection. The wood therefore has no threading, which explains the longevity of this model in public spaces: a loose leg does not tear the material and can be put back into place. HAY has kept this principle while reissuing it with Dietiker.