The pair of chairs pictured explore iterative interpretations of a single outline, inspired by the juxtaposition between night and day. I designed and built both at Stanford while taking ME263: The Chair.
Steel frame chair 1
My goal was to emphasize the positive and negative spaces created by an outline. This is most obvious in the form of the steel frames, and further emphasized by voids in the wrapped cord and leather.
I constructed both frames from 16ga steel tubing; bent and formed using manual and hydraulic tube bending machines; TIG welded, and powder-coated. Basic load calculations and testing of the core frame members allowed for a solid mechanical foundation upon which the outline was fully defined. The maple seats were carved into a comfortable contour using a wood CNC router.
I developed the cord-wrapping technique on the Day Chair through a study of knitting, weaving, crocheting, and lots of prototyping. The way it is tensioned requires no glue or hardware for permanent assembly.
As with any project, there are always improvements I would make in the future! In fact I am currently in the process of redoing the leather back on the Night Chair, and enjoying a continuing evolution of design.