2017 Chicago Cultural Center / The Story Chair

The Story Chair

Location: Chicago Cultural Center

What is it?
This is the centerpiece of the custom designed furniture of Conrad Sulzer Regional Library,
from which stories are read at library programs.

The example displayed here is a prototype
created by Hammond, Beeby and Babka – the architectural firm responsible for the Sulzer design.
Its design and handpainting was created by the project’s supervising artist Tannys Langdon.

The Story Chair

The Story Chair

The centerpiece of the Conrad Sulzer Regional Library’s custom designed furniture is the story chair – a fantasy throne from which stories are read at library programs. At the start of the reading programs it appears as a decorative table with a sunbrust top. A storyteller then enters the room and lifts the top with great ceremony.

Like magic, the table transforms into a giant circular backed throne. It seat is a golden treasure chest holding the story to be read, protected on each side by mythological guardian winged griffins.Adding a sense of mystery, a pinch of deadly nightshade springs from each griffin’s coiling tail.

A story is removed from the treasure chest’s hinged top. When the storyteller sits to read, a painted silver moon on the dark blue magic sky creates an aura around the reader’s head.

The example displayed here is a prototype created by Hammond, Beeby and Babka – the architectural firm responsible for the Sulzer design. Its design and handpainting was created by the project’s supervising artist Tannys Langdon.

The library’s custom design furniture draws inspiration from the antique hand painted furniture of Germany and eastern Europe.