![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-031.jpg)
Bertus by Alain Monnens
Belgian designer Alain Monnens has designed a leather armchair for Belgian company Durlet.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-021.jpg)
The seating, called Bertus, has a metal framework that has been formed from a single piece, which acts as the support for the stitched upholstered leather seat and backrest.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-Squ.jpg)
The upholstered elements are tilted back by the framework, making the armchair slightly reclining.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-111.jpg)
Bertus comes in three colour variations: black on black, black on white, and white on white.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-01.jpg)
Here's some more information about the designer:
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One extremely successful realisation of Alain Monnens is his most recent design, the sturdy BERTUS armchair for Durlet.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-091.jpg)
The designer took great care in getting the lines of this chair exactly right, both in profile or viewed from the front and back.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-041.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-051.jpg)
What is striking is the supple lines of the metal support structure which encompasses the armchair in a single movement, from the front leg, over the armchair, to the backrest and the rear leg, and then back to the second front leg.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-101.jpg)
This structure is – as is always the case with Monnens’ designs – a functional element which also describes the graphic structure and illustrates the way in which the object “works”.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/10/dzn_Bertus-by-Alain-Monnens-071.jpg)