Ghyczy (pronounced Guygee) is of Hungarian origin, but Dutch — and cosmopolitan — by adoption and attitude. He is a tireless inventor obsessed by one idea and one alone: function.

On the 50th anniversary of the Egg Chair, his figure and work are being revisited and expanded upon with a series of events and celebrations, from an exhibition in Brussels to a new book and the presence of his brand at the Milano Design Week in April 2018.

Born in Budapest in 1940, Ghyczy left Hungary to move to Germany.

He took sculpture classes at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and then architecture at Aachen Polytechnic University; he worked as an assistant to Professor Rudolph Steinbach, on a UNESCO project in Egypt and then in Paris.

1968 was the year of the Garden Egg Chair. At the time Ghyczy was appointed manager for development of polyurethane furniture at Reuter in Lemförde. It was then that he designed the Garden Egg Chair, which burst into the design scene and the everyday life of families in Northern Europe. It became an icon not only of homes in those years but also of the history of design. It’s part of the V&A and the Wende Museum (Los Angeles, USA), and the Design Museum Holon (Holon, ISR).

Its collectors and fans include Karl Lagerfeld, Frida Giannini, Lisa Perry, The Osbournes, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, and Tom Dixon).

The Adam-Design museum in Brussels dedicated an exhibition to him: Peter Ghyczy: 50 Years of Functionalism, curated by Kunty Moureau.