Out-of-the-Box Chair

Personal project

Project Description

These chairs were designed as a personal project for a small apartment or home. The goal was to make chairs that would be compact enough for a small space, light enough to be easily moved, but also solid feeling and comfortable.

Birch plywood was selected for the look, and for strength. The chairs were designed with a mostly rectilinear geometry, which gave a mid-century modern appearance, and also simplified the fabrication process. The chairs' wide armrests are ideal places to rest a glass or plate, can he used like a bench for sitting or perching on, and are strong enough to hold the full weight of an adult.

The design was studied in sketches, 3-D and scale models, and finally in full-scale mockups, which were tested for a variety of body sizes. No hardware was used in putting the chairs together, they were joined only with joinery biscuits and dowels, finished with a 3-part urethane-blend finish, and outfitted with cushions of polyester fabric and polyurethane foam.

The chair was included in the 2005 California College of the Arts (CCA) Faculty Exhibition.