Tribù Suro armchairs with rope-wound backs and wooden legs on a walled terrace at dusk

Tribù collection · Christophe Delcourt

Tribù Suro collection

Christophe Delcourt sets two things against each other in Suro. The frame under the seat is solid, in wood or in aluminum, and rope is wound around it in tight horizontal courses until the outside of the chair becomes a texture.

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The collection

Suro in one paragraph

The rope is doing visible work. It wraps the back and the arms in close bands, and because the coils leave narrow gaps between them, rain falls through rather than pooling on a surface. A soft brush and soapy water twice a season keeps it the color it arrived in. Skip the pressure washer, which pushes water deep into the winding faster than it can leave.

Four pieces, covering two jobs. The armchair is the one that pulls up to a dining table; the lounge chair is its lower, deeper relative for a seating group. The banquette seats several people along one side, and the dining table anchors the whole arrangement. For a collection this compact, that is an unusual amount of range.

Cushions are loose and few. A seat pad, a back cushion, and nothing more, so the frame stays readable from every angle. That restraint is the design, and it also means there is less to carry indoors when a storm comes through Charleston at four in the afternoon.

Teak versions grey over a first season outdoors unless you oil them twice a year, and neither path shortens the life of the wood. Aluminum holds its finish with no attention at all. Tribù has been building outdoor furniture in Belgium since the 1960s and now sells in more than 70 countries, with a US office in Carrollton, Texas. Everything in Suro is quoted on request.

Designer: Christophe Delcourt
Pieces: 4
Materials: Solid seat frame in wood or aluminum, Braided rope wound over the frame, Loose seat and back cushions, Outdoor upholstery fabric
Best for: Dining terraces and compact lounge groups where the frame should stay visible
Pricing: On request

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Specification

What the Suro pieces are made of

Finishes and fabrics are chosen per order. Samples ship before anything is built.
Piece	Frame	Seat	Care
Armchair	Solid frame in wood or aluminum, rope wound over back and arms	Loose seat pad with a back cushion	Soft brush and soapy water on the rope
Lounge chair	Lower, deeper version of the same frame	Seat cushion with a loose back	Stand cushions on edge after rain
Banquette	Bench-length frame with the same rope winding	Long seat cushion with loose back cushions	Store cushions indoors over winter
Dining table	Table built in the collection materials	Table top, no cushion	Oil the wood twice a year or let it grey

Build

How a Suro piece is layered

Braided rope

The wound skin over the back and arms. Gaps between the coils let water through, so the chair is dry long before a cushion would be.
Seat frame

Solid wood or aluminum underneath. It carries the load; the rope carries the look.
Cushion

A seat pad and one back cushion. Fewer pieces to dry, fewer to store, and the frame stays visible.
Finish

Wood greys unless you oil it twice a year. Powder-coated aluminum stays as delivered, which matters in salt air.