Canapé deux places Artifort C647 par Kho Liang Ie – entièrement restauré

This sofa began its life as a C647, designed by Kho Liang Ie for Artifort in the 1960s. I acquired it directly from its first owners, from a villa in Maastricht, where it had survived in its original black leather upholstery. After removing the leather, the wooden inner construction proved to be in remarkably good condition and could be preserved. The characteristic aluminium structure and armrests were carefully cleaned and restored. The soft parts, however, became the subject of a deliberate intervention. Inspired by the C647 family The C647 belongs to a closely related family of designs by Kho Liang Ie for Artifort. Within this family, I have always been particularly drawn to the purity of the armless C680 and to versions featuring buttoned cushions. There is something almost futon-like about these large, soft, buttoned surfaces: generous and comfortable, yet contained within Kho Liang Ie's precise architectural language. That became the starting point for my interpretation of this C647. The existing foam was rebuilt and reshaped where necessary. Rather than attempting to reproduce the original upholstery exactly, I deliberately reinterpreted the buttoning and shaping of the soft volumes. For the new upholstery I chose a substantial, richly textured wool by Maharam, replacing the original black leather. The heavy mélange wool reinforces the softness of the cushions and creates a strong contrast with the rational aluminium construction. Restoration or intervention? For transparency, this is not a historically exact restoration of the C647. It is an original Artifort C647 that has been preserved, restored where appropriate and deliberately reinterpreted in my upholstery studio in Maastricht. This distinction is important to my work. When working with vintage furniture, I look at what should be preserved, what can be reconstructed and where there may be room for a new intervention. Sometimes original materials or components no longer exist. At other times, a worn object contains the potential for a surprisingly contemporary piece of furniture. At that point, restoration begins to touch on design. Kho Liang Ie designed the C647. Artifort produced this example. Decades later, I dismantled it, preserved its original construction and reinterpreted its soft layer. Those different authorships are intentionally allowed to remain visible. Designer / original model: Kho Liang Ie, C647 Manufacturer: Artifort, The Netherlands Period: 1960s Provenance: first owners, Maastricht, The Netherlands Original upholstery: black leather Preserved: original wooden inner construction and aluminium components Intervention: foam rebuilt and reshaped; buttoning and upholstery reinterpreted New upholstery: heavy mélange wool by Maharam Intervention by: Zachte Zaken, Maastricht Not a reproduction of the past, but a new chapter in an existing design.