Portuguese chair


The Portuguese chair is a model of metal outdoor chair originally developed by the Portuguese furniture company Adico in the 1920s. The proper designer of the chair is unknown.
The term "Portuguese chair" was recently coined to designate the original model developed by Adico, known as the 5008 chair, as well as its derivatives, like the Gonçalo chair designed by Gonçalo Rodrigues dos Santos in the 1940s and produced by the furniture company Arcalo.
Since the 1930s, the 5008 chair, and latter its derivatives, started to be found in esplanades around Portugal, becoming associated with the Portuguese cafe culture. The chairs were also found in the former Portuguese overseas territories and even in other countries.
In the 1980s, the Portuguese chairs started to disappear from the esplanades of Portugal, being replaced by cheap plastic Monobloc chairs.
However, the increased attention given to design occurring in the 1990s, made them to start to reappear, being chosen to furniture iconic places like the esplanades of the Belém Cultural Center. In 2011, the Portuguese chair became the sole outdoor chair model authorized by the Lisbon City Council in the esplanades of the historic downtown of the city.
In 2015, Casa de Santa Maria, Cascais organized an exhibition in tribute to the Portuguese chair, including examples intervened by 40 different artists and designers. Examples of the chair are also part of the MUDE - Lisbon Design and Fashion Museum collections.