Furniture Design - DIS Copenhagen
Evoo
A semester long study of Danish furniture, culminating in the design and fabrication of a plywood chair.
Danish Furniture
Scandinavian Design
Known for its use of high quality materials and thoughtful craftsmanship, Danish and Scandinavian Design are models of elegance and efficiency. The products produced from this thought of design work are useful, made for durability and enjoyment while still looking beautiful.
Oftentimes, Scandic design is much more environmentally friendly, as Scandinavians are more focused on the environment and practicing sustainability. For this class, I was tasked with designing a beautiful, functional, Danish inspired chair out of simple materials, and the most important part was that it must be flat-packable (like IKEA furniture, it can be disassembled for a more cost and environmentally friendly shipment).
Prototyping
Simplicity in Design
The best designs are often the simplest. I wanted my chair to have very clear lines, and follow simple geometric shapes. I decided early on in the design process that I wanted to build a rocking chair. I worked with various circular side profiles, adjusting the shape slightly to create the best one for rocking. This resulted in a teardrop shape; having more weight towards the back helped ground the chair, as well as gave the user more runway to lean back on. The seat and back are then slightly exposed in the ovular opening, a nice juxtaposition to the curvature.
Purposeful Design
The sides functioned not only as the rocking component, but also as the armrests. This allowed for a more streamlined design, as compared to having to design multiple elements. This also helped guide my design as the armrest portion and rocking portion should relate visually to each other.
Construction
Construction of Stretchers
Seat
Due to the thinness of the plywood sheets used for the seat and the back, it wasn't feasible to drill into the sides of them, as it could rip the wood and also did not provide enough strength. Therefore, I permanently glued hardwood stretchers onto the ends and back of these components, providing the much needed support as well as aesthetic value. On the exterior you can see the where the screws connect to the stretchers.
Back
Final Chair and Presentation
