Bent Plywood Chair Book

Contents Design Statement Research Ideation Design Development Model Process for Final Piece Final Piece

Design Statement This dining chair that I have designed is for young urban professionals that host dinner parties for their friends and family. The profile of this bent ply-wood chair is simple with stained curved and straight edges. Many of the dining chairs in the market now are no doubt comfortable, however can they also add ease to the owners life? The teardropped cutouts on the chair are not only for ornamentation but also help reduce the weight. These cut out shapes on the chair back let the users hang their bags and coats on the chair easily without it sliding off easily. This dining chair may seem to be only suitable for formal dining however the simple and modern tear-dropped cutouts add a little informality to the atmostphere. The conventional dining chair in homes are mostly designed to be sat in for only a short period of time after that, aches in the body start to happen, however the chair that I have designed will be comfortable for at least 2 hours so diners can enjoy their meal at ease.

Moodboard

Research Before designing the actual chair, as research, other existing chairs were studied. Their comfort level, design of form as well as function were looked at and studied.

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West Elm. Cheapest in price. Thinnest type of plywood. Different patterns on the chair give character and individuality.

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Dining chair by Norman Cherner Fairly comfortable. Shape of arms felt unsafe. Priced around $900.

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Standard, Jean Prouve, 1934. Bent plywood, steel tubular legs Quite comfortable, the back could be higher. Liked colors used.

• Eames Elephant, Charles and Ray Eames, 1945. • Plastic toy/stool • $185

• LCW Chair, Charles and

Ray Eames, 1946. • Very low, very easy to slide in to as well as get out of • Very comfortable • Around $900.

• Antony, Jean Prouve, 1954.

• Designed as a dorm chair • Most comfortable chair • Able to support a wide

range of people in different sizes.

Ergonomics

According to human anthropometrics, the seat height should be 16” - 19” to be comfortable to be seated at a table height of 29”. The backward slope of the seat also should not produce a knee angle of less than 90 degrees with the feet flat on the ground. The seat should be as deep as possible but not greater than the length of the thigh measured from the fold of the knee to the back which is between 17.2” to 20.1”. There should also be room for the legs to lift and move around while seated and below the table.

Ideation

After sketching, I decided that I would go with a rectangular shape for the seat back. As well as keeping the legs as simple as possible. I also chose to work further with a flat seat.

Design Development Foam core Models at 1/4 scale Model A

Model B

I made this model to explore the cutout detail on the back of the chair. This was what I had drawn in the sketches at first. I want this detail to not only just be a decorative thing but also to serve a function. I intend for this to be for hooking bags and coats, as well as for people to pull out their chairs easily. I needed to change the legs of this model because it did not fit with the back.

For this model, I played around more with proportions and the style of the chair. The width of the chair was too wide compared to the height of the legs, I however did like the way the legs looked in this model more than the ones in the previous model.

The sketch on the left is what I have decided to follow for the final shape/form of my dining chair.

These final sketches show more of the different shapes and positions I was exploring for the cut outs of the chair back and legs. In the end, I decided to use leaf-like or tear drop motifs. This would hopefully keep the chair ambiguous with no specific gender as the focus. These motifs would become cutouts on the chair and allow for people to hook their bags and coats on it. As well as reduce the final weight of this ply-wood chair. The bottom back points of the chair legs have also been extended to help with the balancing of the chair.

Full Scale Cardboard Model

This mockup was also important for me because of the cutouts on the back of the seat. The black tape was representing the shape of the cutout intended. It was not effective for me at all. All the other dimensions were satisfactory, however there were worries about the chair tipping backwards when in use.

Quarter Scale Model

Final quarter scale model Chipboard, Basswood Veneer Sobo Glue, Paper Cement. Refer to technical drawings for full scale size.

1/4 scale model was made out of layered 1/16” chipboard. Three layers mimick the plywood thickness for the final prototype of the chair. Basswood veneer on the surface as well as beneath the cutouts. The pieces were sanded and glued together. Bottom left photograph shows how the separate pieces will be put together.

Technical Drawings

Top View

Bottom View

Front Elevation

Right Elevation

All measurements in inches. Drawing Scale 1:1

Left Elevation

Back View

Final Piece