The Curling Chair was designed and constructed during my time at the DIS Study Abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. I participated in a seven week furniture design studio where I studied Scandinavian furniture design history, theory and fabrication. I had the opportunity to visit furniture design and fabrication facilities such as PP Møbler, Fritz Hansen, and the A-Factory and studied the work of Scandinavian designers such as Hans Wegner, Arne Jakobsen and Alvar Aalto. I was particularly interested in the emphasis on functionalist design and the principle of only using material where structurally necessary.
IDEATION
I was inspired to make a large, low-sitting chair that gave the user the ability to ‘curl up’ and pull their legs toward them. I decided on the singular arm concept because I found it to be a unique way of encouraging the user to lean into the back corner of the chair. I worked with ideation sketches, 1:5 and full scale models.
PROCESS AND FABRICATION
I worked with 1:1 architectural drawings and used that as a guide to fabricate the final product. The chair is built from birch hardwood and saddle strap then sanded and soap finished.