Design gallery Casa Valle has collaborated with furniture producer BD Barcelona on a limited edition version of Antoni Gaudí’s Battló Chair that is on show as part of NYCxDesign 2025.
The Battló Chair was originally designed by Gaudí in 1904 for the dining room of Casa Battló in Barcelona, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The chair is considered one of the architect’s most famous furniture designs and is an icon of Modernisme – the Catalan version of the art nouveau style.
BD Barcelona was the first company to reproduce and commercialise Gaudí’s furniture designs, including the chair and a bench designed for the interior of Casa Battló.
Casa Valle’s special edition of 50 pieces is finished in a dark ebony stain, chosen to emphasise its elegant, fluid form.
The design, with its gently twisting legs supporting a sculpted seat and ergonomic backrest, is typical of Gaudí’s expressive and organic structures.
The chairs are handcrafted by artisans in Barcelona to faithfully recreate the proportions of Gaudí’s original design.
Casa Valle founders Giancarlo Valle and Jane Keltner de Valle visited several of Gaudí’s monuments during a recent visit to the city and admired the handcrafted quality of his furniture, which brings the animalistic forms to life by emphasising the expressive carved lines.
In the wake of their trip, the couple began conversations with BD Barcelona about presenting a version of the Battló Chair in New York.
“We were excited by the idea of continuing to evolve Gaudí’s legacy,” said De Valle, explaining that the Battló chair has rarely been seen outside of the house for which it was designed.
“His style of Modernisme feels so relevant today. We were interested in showing his designs in a new context and also evolving the conversation around Gaudí.”
During NYCxDesign, the Battló chair is on show in the gallery’s front room alongside a blue resin table from Casa Valle’s own collection.
The pieces are set against a red backdrop informed by Salvador Dalí’s home outside Barcelona but also referencing Spanish art and design more broadly.
“Gaudí’s legacy as an architect and designer who approached spaces holistically is something we very much relate to in our own approach,” De Valle explained.
The Battló chairs in a custom ebony finish will be produced in a numbered edition of 50 pieces, available exclusively through Casa Valle. The exhibition at the gallery in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighbourhood continues through 21 May 2025.
Gaudí, who is known as “God’s architect”, was posthumously named a candidate for sainthood by Pope Francis earlier this year.
He was responsible for designing some of Spain’s most famous buildings, including Casa Battló and the Sagrada Familia, which is slated for completion next year – 100 years after the architect’s death.
Visit our dedicated NYCxDesign 2025 guide to keep up with all the design events in the city from 15 to 21 May and the general Dezeen Events Guide for international fairs, showcases and panels in architecture and design.
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