German design graduate Tobias Nitsche has developed a chair with a seat and back moulded from lightweight 3D plywood.
The moulded parts are made from thin plywood veneer that can be shaped when heated into tight curves to stiffen the material so additional bracing is not required.
"More deformation means more stability in a chair with less material," explains Tobias Nitsche, who designed the chair during his studies at ECAL in Lausanne.
Working with veneer specialists at German company, Danzer, he was able to explore forms that achieve the necessary rigidity without cracking the wood.
Four CNC-milled wooden blocks join the legs to the seat and the back is attached using wooden dowels so only one material is required to produce the chair.
"For me the challange was to find a language that translates the characteristics of the material into an object that is light, stable and visualises comfort," says Nietsche.
The result is a chair suited to use in bars, restaurants or other venues where furniture is frequently moved around and stacked.
Earlier this week we featured the rerelease of Arne Jacobsen's classic plywood Tongue chair, while Berlin's Eric and Johnny Design Studio showed a plywood chair with a structure inspired by I-beams at this year's imm Cologne.
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Here's a short description from the designer:
Boss is a plywood chair that combines traditional woodworking techniques with the use of 3d plywood.
I worked in cooperation with the German company Danzer who is producing the material. Using their technology gives the chance to construct a plywood chair with a more radical curvature.
The thin plywood parts are stiffened by their three dimensional moulding. Four rods complete the construction.
Like that I designed a chair that is made only from wood and is at the same time light and stable. It's visual language has never been seen in wood before.