Formful Wood. Explorative Furniture

JOLICOEUR
L: 300 mm × W: 600 mm × H: 410 mm
What does a seating object look like which not only has to be elegant and sensuous,
but also has to be robust because of frequent use? The objective of the
proj ect was to develop a seat for public transportation facilities. A number of
free sketches led to important steps in the direction of a target form, where comfort
and simplicity are combined in curves. Extensive production tests led to a
seat that is constructed in one piece. A fixed inner and flexible outer formwork
was created for this purpose. In this first step, a lot of effort was spent on producing
a strong curvature, after which the seat had to be stabilized in a second
step, through a combination of these surfaces. The formwork, which had been
rebuilt with a lot of effort, made a still tighter curvature possible at this point.
The radical concept of a closed, simple and comfortable form led to a result
that expands the formal language of plywood and indicates additional potential.
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