Designed by John Pawson for Italian furniture brand Passoni, the Tacta chair’s distinctive profile developed out of the idea of extending the legs as two sinuous lines of timber that touch and separate to form the arms and backrest, creating an elegant sculptural form that is both comfortable and visually refined. From this simple strategy has emerged a design that feels unequivocally modern, but also speaks quietly of its antecedents in Thonet’s bentwood chairs and the organic lines of Danish midcentury furniture.