Vitra Miniature Chair MR 20

In the middle of the twenties the steel tube became the most popular design element of avant-garde in furniture. Within a few years the most important steel tube designs were created, which are now considered classics of modern furniture design. During preparations for the Stuttgart Weißenhof Mart Stam developed a new type of chair, the back legs tubular steel chair. To prevent possible instability of cantilevered frame, Stam reinforced the steel tubes at critical angles, thereby creating a stable but rigid, non-resilient construction It was Mies van der Rohe who discovered the elasticity of the steel pipe and used it as a constructive principle. Inspired by Stams idea he designed the first cantilever in design history in 1927.