Hans Coray was raised in Zurich, where he completed a doctorate in Romance languages. In the 1930s he began to experiment with metal and wire as an autodidact, applying these techniques to the design of furnishings, industrial products and sculptures. He was closely associated with the artists of Dada and the Concrete Art movement in Zurich, a circle including Max Bill, Verena Loewensberg and Hans Fischli. As the first of Coray's seating designs to enter production, the Landi Chair became a milestone in design history. An adherent of humanist values, Coray continued to create furniture into the 1950s, turning his attention in the later years of his life to painting and sculpture.