Michael Geldmacher is an award-winning German furniture designer drawn to new objects with a distinct aesthetic character. He holds that form should communicate function, and regards the chair as a type in which function is already written into the form. His collaboration with Billiani began from concrete ideas that evolved considerably before Layer was presented at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2018. The chair is defined by continuity between design and material: a plywood armrest runs into the padding of the back, so the frame reads as a single flowing line. The way its wooden and upholstered components fit together produces a firm profile with splayed legs. Layer is available as a chair, armchair, lounge chair and stool.