The six-legged Serwaa lounge chair is a contemporary take on the traditional West African Lobi chair. Originally designed by the Lobi people of present-day Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana ‘this traditional stool has different variants. Some have three legs, some four, some six' explains Giles Tettey Nartey, the British-Ghanaian, designer, architect and PhD researcher. Serwaa is a new project by Tettey Nartey, who was one of Wallpaper's Future Icons, and exhibited at the Triennale during Salone 2024.
The concept for the project came about from a trip Nartey made to Ghana. Walking through markets in Accra he saw the Lobi chair being used for everyday tasks. ‘In Western Africa many domestic objects are not only functional. The Lobi stool for example is embedded with cultural and spiritual significance. It's not just an item to sit down on.’ According to the architect, unlike in Europe, in West Africa, it is often said that a stool can embody the spirit of a person who has recently passed away.
