The seat and back of a cantilever chair are supported entirely by its front legs. Nearly a century old, this seating typology emerged from the possibilities of the invention of seamless steel tubing in the late nineteenth century. A strong, elegant, and relatively lightweight material, it allowed the chair to be held aloft without back-leg support. The first cantilever chair was designed by the Dutch architect Mart Stam in 1926. Interested in finding out more about cantilever chairs? Make sure t