The original version of the CH20 Elbow Chair was designed in 1956. Hans J. Wegner built a pair of prototypes but decided that producing them would be too intensive, due to the steam-bent backrest, formed from a single piece of solid wood. The prototypes were placed into the archives until 2005 when Carl Hansen & Son decided to reissue the chair.
Technology had advanced significantly in the intervening years, and it was finally possible to produce the striking CH20 at scale. It quickly became a modern classic, defined by the beautiful curve of the backrest that provides elbow and back support, while enabling a variety of different sitting positions.