Auditorium and theatre seating L213 by Lamm in a row with inclined sides

Auditorium and theatre seating where the side decides the depth: L213 by Lamm

Lamm
L213
L213 An icon of Italian design
From £ 2,500

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Trade terms for professionals and design studios

Most auditorium chairs come in one shape and ask the hall to adapt. L213, designed by Lamm's own research and development office for conference halls, auditoriums and teaching rooms, comes in two. The difference is the load-bearing side: inclined or straight, full height either way, carrying the seat and the backrest on a plywood core with metal inserts.

The choice is not cosmetic. With the inclined side the chair measures 75 cm overall depth; with the straight side it measures 83 cm. At a row spacing of 90 cm, the free passage behind a tipped-up seat is 33 cm with the inclined side and 36 cm with the straight one. Two geometries, two row plans, and the figures come straight from the manufacturer's dimensioned drawings rather than from an estimate.

In practice the inclined side suits halls where every centimetre of rake matters, and the straight side suits rooms that want a cleaner vertical line along the aisle. Either side can be upholstered all over or veneered in oak or beech, the anchor foot is common to both, and an increased-width version exists for halls that expect long sessions. La Mercanti draws the row twice, once per side, before recommending either for theatre seating in a given room.

L213 is also at home in congress venues and in lecture halls, where a tablet hidden in the side and a table on the seatback turn a row into a desk; if the brief requires it, Lamm's Floor Technology lowers the whole chair below floor level. Eight centimetres between two sides is a detail that a plan either absorbs now or pays for later.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: L213
Manufacturer: Lamm — Lamm S.r.l., San Secondo Parmense (Parma), Italy
Design: R&D LAMM (the manufacturer's research and development office)
What it is: armchair for conference halls, auditoriums, educational and multipurpose rooms; full-height load-bearing sides, inclined or straight, also available in increased width
Seat and backrest: plywood internal structure; padding in shaped, non-deformable, fire-retardant polyurethane foam (manufacturer's declaration)
Seat tip-up: by gravity, with a counterweight
Rear of the backrest: visible plywood in oak or beech finish, or completely upholstered and covered
Sides: load-bearing, inclined or straight, plywood structure with metal inserts; fully upholstered and covered in fabric, faux leather or leather, or in painted wood with oak or beech finish; thickness 8 cm / 3 1/8 in (standard) or 10 cm / 3 7/8 in (increased width)
Side with writing tablet: tip-up foldaway writing tablet in black stratified HPL, die-cast aluminium joint, folds away into the side, anti-panic movement
Floor-anchor feet: moulded sheet steel with a scratchproof, anti-corrosion epoxy powder coating in semi-matt black RAL 9005, semi-matt silver, embossed bronze or embossed graphite; fixed to the floor
Installation: on horizontal or sloped flooring or on steps, in straight or curved rows (standard minimum radius 8 m / 26 ft 3 in)
Centre-to-centre distance: 53 or 56 cm (20 7/8 or 22 in) with the standard side; 56, 58 or 60 cm (22, 22 7/8 or 23 5/8 in) with the increased-width side (technical sheet)
Row spacing: 90 cm (35 3/8 in); free passage with the seat tipped up 33 cm / 13 in (inclined side) or 36 cm / 14 1/8 in (straight side); 93 cm (36 5/8 in) with the seatback table; curved rows 90 cm (35 3/8 in) or more
Heights: overall 97 cm (38 1/4 in) · seat 45 cm (17 3/4 in) · side tablet at 65 cm / 25 5/8 in (inclined side) or 67 cm / 26 3/8 in (straight side) · seatback table at 70 cm (27 1/2 in)
Overall depth: 75 cm (29 1/2 in) with the inclined side · 83 cm (32 5/8 in) with the straight side
Seatback table (accessory): tip-up, anti-panic movement, slow and cushioned closing (patent pending); top in HPL laminate, beech, oak or black
T200 table (accessory): tip-up writing table on a single base; overall footprint with the chair 104.5 cm / 41 1/8 in (inclined side) or 102 cm / 40 1/8 in (straight side)
Floor Technology (on project): the manufacturer's foldaway system that moves the whole body of the seat to a horizontal position under the floor
Accessories: row identification element · seat numbering · under-seat panel and backrest panel in painted wood, oak or beech finish · provision for electric power supply (socket on demand) · provision for audio/video devices (on project) · added armrest in painted solid wood, beech or oak · accessory system that moves the chairs on castors when not in use (chairs with floor-fixed feet, in straight rows)
Coverings: ten — Inca, King, Trevi CS, Silvertex, Extrema Au, Luna CS, Revive 1, Remix 2, Steelcut Trio 3, leather
HPL laminates (seatback table): beech, oak, black · Stratified HPL (side tablet): black
Painted wood (sides, rear of backrest, panels): beech, oak · Painted solid wood (armrest): beech, oak
Foot paint: black, silver, bronze, graphite
Padding: CertiPUR® certified
Wooden components: low formaldehyde emission
Testing: tested according to European standards (the manufacturer declares no standard numbers)

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Documents and Catalogues

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FAQ

Can a hall fitted with L213 be emptied for a dinner or an exhibition?

Yes, with the accessory system Lamm offers for chairs with floor-fixed feet in straight rows: it makes the rows removable and moves them on castors when they are not in use. The rows go back onto their fixing points afterwards, so the hall does not lose its seating plan.

What happens when someone stands up suddenly against the seatback table?

The table is designed for exactly that: it has an anti-panic movement and a slow, cushioned closing for which Lamm has a patent pending, so it moves out of the way and returns to rest in a controlled, quiet way. The top is HPL laminate in beech, oak or black.

Why does L213 feel comfortable after two hours rather than twenty minutes?

Because the inclination of the seat and the inclination of the backrest are coordinated: the manufacturer describes the result as a comfortable, relaxed seating position studied for a prolonged stay. It is the reason La Mercanti proposes it for full-day congresses rather than short briefings.

Is there any metal inside the plywood sides of L213?

There is: the load-bearing sides have a plywood structure fitted with metal inserts at the points where the seat and the backrest load them. The upholstery or the oak and beech finish goes over that core, so the strength sits inside the side rather than in its surface.

Does L213 look as finished from the back row as from the stage?

Lamm says so explicitly: the composition is meant to enhance both the front and the rear view. The rear of the backrest is either visible plywood in oak or beech or fully upholstered, and it is treated as a face of the chair, not as its back.

Writing the finish schedule for a hall of L213 chairs

The steps for putting every finish of an L213 row in writing before the order: sides, rear of the backrest, anchor feet, tablet tops and covering, row by row.

Name the version of each row

Every row of L213 starts with one line: side geometry, inclined or straight, and side width, standard or increased. Everything else in the schedule hangs on that line, because a wooden side and an upholstered side are ordered differently.

Settle the sides and the rear

Sides fully upholstered in fabric, faux leather or leather, or in painted wood with oak or beech finish; rear of the backrest in visible plywood, oak or beech, or upholstered. Writing the two choices side by side shows at once whether the wood finishes match.

Fix the foot colour

The stamped-steel anchor foot carries an epoxy powder coating in four finishes: semi-matt black RAL 9005, semi-matt silver, embossed bronze or embossed graphite. One colour per hall keeps the rows from drifting apart.

Specify the tops

Where tablets are planned, note the material: black stratified HPL for the tablet in the side, HPL laminate in beech, oak or black for the seatback table, and any T200 tables for the front row.

Enter the covering by its code

The fabric or leather chosen from the ten coverings on the L213 card goes into the schedule with its collection name and colour code; La Mercanti carries those lines into the order exactly as written, row by row.