Year
2017
N/A
Project Type
Product Design
Organisation
Royal College of Art | Imperial College London
Superform
Designed through experimentation, this is my Superform chair.
Objectives + Challenges
Problem Statement
Design and make a chair. It must have a back.
Target Audience
Student and teaching group | My butt
Goals | Constraints |
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Process + Approach
Methodology
I approached this from a sketch and ideation framework at small scale to get a feel for the chair I would make. We had to do 3 different ones at small scale before deciding on one. Once fully clear on which I would make, I broke it down to determine the best way to make and assemble it.
Due to the size of the frame, and single sheet construction, I decided to hand draft at 1:1 directly onto the sheet of wood, before cutting it out with a jig saw. In another time, this would and could be done on a CNC router. To test the construction, I made an initial version in MDF, before cutting the final in Plywood.
The two side frames of the chair were joined with a rigid cross beam, and steel wire rope, from which jute coffee bags were slung to make the seat and back.
Key Activities
Sketching
Scale models
Design selection
Design for manufacturing
Manufacture and procurement
Assembly
Tools & Technologies | Materials | ||
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Solutions, Deliverables + Outcomes
Final Output
The final chair came together well. A combination of wood joints and wire construction to help make it feel a bit more lightweight. The bags were adequate seats, though they did shed! Visually it is an interesting juxtaposition of hard edges and corners, with the soft, graphic bags.
Key Features
Single construction frames
Coffee bag seats
Outcomes + Comments
Outcomes
The chair was received adequately. The general feedback was that there were elements of very good craftsmanship with some sloppy aspects. The wire construction was interesting but not executed well by not trimming the wire for example.
Lessons Learned
This project was a great reminder for me of what can be done with a couple of sketches and hand tools. It showed me again what I could build without checking and rechecking in CAD and analysis.
Personal Commentary
This was a fun project to take on. That said, if I were to do it today, I would be much more committal to a specific vision, instead of blending two. Additionally, finishing it to a higher standard, and tidying the scruffy bits like the wires, or properly sizing and trimming the bags. I could see this becoming an interesting chair, but not likely to be a standard one in any space. A production version would need a lot of tidying up, and small changes, like from the bags, to a proper slung seat.
Additionally, while the single sheet construction gives strength, it does mean there's a lot of material wastage.
On another note, my work as a product photographer leaves a lot to be desired!
If taking this as a starting point, I would split the project into two chairs, one focused on wire and plywood construction, and the other going all in on the coffee bags and creating a resin chair with them.
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