Yrj Kukkapuro, celebrated Finnish designer known for his Karuselli and Experiment chairs, passed away on Saturday, February 8 at the age of 91. The designer and architect was at his home just outside Helsinki where he continued to design until the very end. For over 70 years, Kukkapuro focused on ergonomic furniture for public spaces and offices. This experimental, and functional approach created a lasting legacy. Almost every Finn has sat on a chair he designedat a metro station, in a bank, at school, or in a library, said Studio Kukkapuro in a statement about the designers passing. His work is included in the collections of leading design museums, such as Museum of Modern Art in New York, V&A Museum in London, Vitra Museum, and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.Kukkapuro was born in 1933 in Vyborg. He came to furniture design by happenstance. Originally, the designer enrolled at Helsinkis School of Art and Design to pursue graphic design, but when he arrived in the big city in 1953 he missed the selection process. Out on the street he happened to run into a former army mate, Pentti Hietanen, who set him up with a place to live and a job as a draughtsmen at Paul Bomans furniture factory. Thus began Kukkapuros love for furniture and interior design. During his studies at Aalto University, he attended a lecture by Olli Borg on chair physiology, learning forms affects on blood circulation, strain, and posture which would become the ethos of his ergonomic practice. By 1958, he qualified as an interior architect.An archival photo of the Experiment Chair (Courtesy Hem)One of his most renowned works, the Karuselli, or carousel, chair exemplifies Kukkapuros passion for fiberglass and comfort. Designed in 1964 and produced by Artek, the Karuselli is a result of the designers years-long quest to design a chair that supports the whole body. The curving Karuselli does so with by embracing the body in its deep seat. It caught the eye of Gio Ponti who then put it on the cover of Domus in 1966.As an interior architect himself, Kukkapuros relationships with other architects were integral to his work. He conceived of furniture design as part of architecture. Architects could call on him to see what he was working on to include in their interiors. For example, once architect Matti I. Jaatinen visited his workshop and saw a preform plaster mold of a chair (which Kukkapuro makes for every design as part of his process), and declared it as part of the design for the Waskia hotel. It went on to become an early iteration of Kukkapuros Saturn chair. To this day, Kukkapuros work continues to inspire. In 1982, he released the Experimental Chair, an angled-back chair with colorful, wavy armrests which was recently revived by Hem. The chair combined funky shapes and stylized details without sacrificing comfortability. Universal yet unfussy, the chair became a totem of postmodern design, arriving at the same year Memphis Group published their manifesto. Kukkapuro considered the chair one of his greatest works.We are saddened by the news of Yrjs passing, and our thoughts are with his family, Petrus Palmr, founder and chief executive of Hem, told AP News. He was a furniture design trailblazer, and showed us that a non-conformist approach is the only way to achieve a lasting legacy.Part of his legacy includes the home and studio he designed for himself and his wife, Irmeli Kukkapuro, in 1968. Located in Kauniainen, the home, composed of swooping concrete, is a feat of structural engineering. Working with Eero Paloheimo, Kukkapuro designed a concrete shell cast on three points. Walls were made from polyurethane-filled chipboard casing fixed to a steel grid. Thermal insulation was devised from polyurethane foam, which was mainly used for train carriages and caravans at the time, sprayed onto the concrete roof. Translucent fiberglass cylinders made up the shower and toilet. To honor and archive Kukkapuros work, the home and studio is slated to become a museum next year.