ALLABOUTARCH: 3ds max

| The concept of chair and the physical reality of it

The chair we proposed is neither an object nor a concept, but an in-between status of the two. One might find a conceptual depiction of a stereotypical chair in its sectional profile. Yet, as observation angel changes slightly, the physical reality of the chair begins to emerge: one could feel the body, suspended in the light weight structure of the chair.

Line|Surface|Volume

Similar to the making of an artwork, the production of the chair also goes through stages of line, surface and volume. Each of the artistic stage correlates with the industrial stage: manufacture, distribution and consumption.

Line|manufacture

Following the lines prescribed in the tooling file, the CNC milling machine would make 2-Dimensional cuts on the 15mm and 5mm plywood sheets. The simple cuts are the only thing needs to be done at the manufacture end. The precision of CNC would avoid mistake and waste of material in the manufacture process.

Surface|distribution

The plywood sheets remain flat after the CNC processing. The 15mm and 5mm plywood sheets could be placed right on top of each other for package. Unnecessary air space is minimized in packaging. More products could be shipped on the same airplane or cargo container. Since there will be less transportation need, the cost of the product would be saved tremendously. Also, it would be more ecological to the society as a whole.

Volume|consumption

As the product reaches the consumer end, consumer could easily assemble the three plywood sheets together without glue or extra tools. A 3-Dimensional volumetric structure of the chair is created. While the two pieces of 15mm plywood provides vertical supports, the one piece of 5mm plywood suspended between the vertical supports and wrapped around the edge of 15mm plywood to provide frequent horizontal bracing. While thick plywood works in compression, the thin one works in tension. The notion of “bending plywood,” initiated by the design of Charles and Eames, is reinterpreted and pushed to the extreme with digital means.

Rather than inventing a new form of chair, the design revolutionizes the production line of the chair, thus defines a new type of chair. The making of the chair is understood as a global process in the design. A chair is not only a chair, but a crucial link within the society, a culture artifact of our time.

Wrap Chair:
5mm plywood sheet 540mm x 2200mm
15mm plywood sheet 750mm x 950mm
Done in CNC machine