Austral Group

AUSTRAL GROUP (Antoni Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy) for Ededis-Isist.
BKF armchair ("Butterfly Chair"). Original design from 1938.
Early 1990's copy published by Ededis.
Metal structure painted in black epoxy and brown leather cover.
Measurements: 91 x 79 x 67 cm.

The BKF chair, also known as "Butterfly", is an iron and leather chair created in Buenos Aires by the Austral Group, composed by Antoni Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari. Today it is considered the main symbol of Argentine design, and one of the most celebrated internationally. It was created in 1938, and presented at the Salón de Artistas Decoradores de Buenos Aires in 1940. It was the result of the happy meeting of three young architects who met in Paris, in Le Corbusier's studio. Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy spent a year studying with the master, absorbing his legacy. They were particularly influenced by the book "L'Art Décoratifs d'Aujourd'hui", in which Le Corbusier demolished the idea of decorative art in favor of modern design. In his book, the architect analyzes new designs, from furniture and technical objects to mass-produced industrial products and solutions conceived in military contexts that could be transferred to the domestic environment. Upon their return to Argentina, the three young men founded Grupo Austral, a design collective prepared to investigate new horizons in architecture. The precedent for the Butterfly chair was the Tripolina: a redesign of a classic piece of military furniture. The three designers studied its potential and redesigned it, improving its features to give it a place of honor in the new domestic environment. They focused on the structure, drawing inspiration from the international tubular metal trend of the rationalist movement. The wooden frame with metal joints was replaced by two curved metal elements to create a single loop. The structure is linear, pure and continuous like a Möbius strip. It is versatile, lightweight and stackable like a chair, but also comfortable and spacious like an armchair. The level of comfort it offers is reminiscent of a hammock, the traditional Latin American chair that forms a cocoon-like womb and offers the lightness and cleanliness of a hanging canvas. Today, the Butterfly continues to be recognized as a modern classic that enjoys universal success.