A polypropylene chair with steam bent ash legs. This chair is not only flatpack, but it also utilizes CNC technology to create a sturdy, easily to assemble plastic shell. The flex of the plastic provides comfort, while the wooden structure provides support.

At the Rhode Island School of Design the last prompt of the Fall semester of Senior year is to create a chair. Many students interpret this project in different manners, but I chose a very functional route; looking to design a user friendly chair intended for production.

I began this project with a very specific list of intentions:

(a) To make a chair that‘s flat pack.
(b) With a focus on connections.
(c) To use materials for their innate qualities.
(d) For it to be easy to assemble.
(e) Simple in construction.
(f) And be a product that the user can understand intuitively.

These were parameters I set for myself in an effort to streamline my design process and approach the chair in a new direction.

This chair was approached as a sum of three parts: Shell, Legs, Hardware. I designed each part first in regard to the user, and second in regard to production.

The shell began with a focus on assembly, comfort, and strength. Once I had determined a durable material (polypropylene) that could facilitate a folding hinge, I designed the shell around the material restraint. The plastic had to be CNC cut in order to ensure that the hinge would be just the right thickness. In the end, the shell folds in a way that does not expose the seated user to any sharp plastic edges and flexes in the places that are necessary.

The legs were designed in an attempt to create a language that worked fluidly with the shell. The emphasis here was on connections; how do these two major pieces come together? Finally, the realization came that flats would connect best with the shell, and rounds would communicate structure. The back legs were steam-bent in order to achieve a comfortable and stable angle for the user in the most direct way possible.

The hardware was seen as the most integral part of establishing communication with the user. I was looking for simple solutions that spoke to the concept of disassembly. Initially it seemed that the best solution would be thumbscrews that the user could twist off. However, after several user trials and research into the formal language of screws and bolts, I was able to find minimally designed hardware that worked much better.

This chair is about comfort, strength, and storage. It fills the need for ultra-functional, aesthetically pleasing furniture. It’s about creating work that doesn’t need to always occupy the space it does when it is in use. Above all, this project was an exploration into bringing a new level of functionality to an object, while focusing on production efficiency and creating something the user can appreciate intuitively.