ahhhh now i get it, i think it's a toss up between 2 and 4, perhaps you should add, "a deviation in architecture that creates furniture."

i also enjoyed definition 7 "architecture made of, or from, furniture."

Earliest sketches relating to definition 7, 1989:


building has virtually no solid elements that are not cabinetry+structure (or horizontal slabs, not shown)

Yeah, kind of disappointing. Probably been done elsewhere, better. Examples, anyone ?

Or were you thinking of a big pile of chairs and sofas ? There has to be something. . .

when some of you guys were designing your furniture, were you hesitant that someone has already designed it. I faced this problem today and i am scrapping 1/2 of the form I created. But I finally created a good design. Ill post the model of it in a week or so.

I look forward to seeing it.

Did you scrap part of your work because you found that it wasn't original ?
It's been said that there's nothing new under the sun. I'm not sure who said that, or why. It sometimes makes me less afraid to do what I want, regardless of originality. You can never know what's out there. Really, I believe that we don't *own* design; it's already in the air, somewhere, and if our antenna is up we might pick up something good. Our job is to do right by whatever we're given. As much as I want to do original work, I'm more determined just to something well.

Of course you won't get far with a copy of an Eames chair. But good design is often nothing more than an improvement on an existing idea. Creativity has been defined as the reassembly of existing elements -- as most of the elements already exist, in one form or another. If the object is consistent within itself, and solves the problems of use, beauty and efficiency, it probably deserves to exist.

well it wasn't that it wasn't original. It seemed to be too simple, to the extent that it looked like a nice beach chair.

Yeah -- I worry about what stuff will "look like" to others. It is hard to be objective about one's own work. I trust in the process: an honest and straightforward approach to the problem; equal parts modesty (ie, restraint), ingenuity and intuition -- and hope the result (if I like it) may appeal to some others as well, sooner or later.

There's no such thing as too simple. . .is there ? <G>

OMG!!! Yet again, I encountered another chair that looks very similar to mine. It's called the slouch chair, its just that scale is different (mine is smaller and it has hind legs)



Is there a point where you think its enough and you think you can carry on, or should keep thinking of expanding onto the design?

Hey, if it's faultlessly gorgeous and compete unto itself (that's from the Old Testament or something), you're done. You can't improve perfection. Stop looking around to see if you're being different from everybody and everything else -- it's a chump's game that you can't win.

I hope yours looks better that that big question mark up there. And what's all that extra upholstery for ?

do you think it would be a bad idea of the chair i am designing held a certain use other than comfort. For example, a magazine or book holder, or would that subtract from the architectural appreciation?

No.

If it's dangling off as an extra, unrelated to the main bulk of the piece it might be unconvincing. If, however, it's a constituent part of the whole while still adding to it, it'll be cool.

That's my opinion.

Yeah. I agree with OV. You've got to integrate the other use into the design. You can't really get away with just tacking a box on the side.

Here are some bad examples:



*Note the ironic placement of Dwell*


Now just do the exact opposite of what you see here.

Good god, where did you find that ?? (Maybe if it had a matching saddlebag on the OTHER side. . .? Nah.)

Ew. no. Well any how, I am not going to do the book design anymore. I have my final and I going am buy the supplies tomorrow in order to build the chair.

Heres a rough sketch i made for you guys to see.




Since I am doing this at home because my community college does not have a workshop, I have a couple of questions. The process of how I am going to build the chair is quite clear except one area, the material I am going to use for the form. I am going to use plywood for my frames (2), then, I am going to use Luon Plywood (2-3 layers of 1/8 or 1/4 inch thickness, depends when I see it) for the form because they are very flexible. But I am not sure if I should use a nice grade plywood (A-C) for the finish? Some People say, I should cut slits in the back to make it flexible, but is that good idea?

Ill Explain why I made it that form, after I build it.

When you say "use for the form," do you mean the curved part shown ? The "frames" are side pieces (not shown) which support the curved seating surface ?

Luan in either 1/4" or 1/8" will probably not bend as you want. There is a coarse mahogany bender board, available in about 3/8" thickness, with two fat surface plies and a thin central ply, which is made to be bent into fairly tight radii. It's surface is too coarse to be finished or even veneered directly. Bending poplar (1/8") is a three-ply which has a fine enough surface to paint or veneer; this is usually laid over ribs fastened to shaped end pieces, in one or more layers.

The slitting ("kerfing") of thicker materials (typically 3/4" plywood) is a way of cetting a thick piece to curve in one step (again fastened to shaped ribs or diaphrams), though the trick is to consistently saw almost all the way through the material, leaving only the surface veneer on one face intact. Only small pieces can successfully be done on the table saw; a Skill saw (portable rotary saw) is the preferred method. Kerfcore is a pre-kerfed material http://www.interiorproducts.com/ Some of these productrs are made as flat panels with kraft paper on one face, ready to be slit with a knife where needed for bending.

So what do you suggest. I was having high-hopes that the Luan will work. Other people have suggested fiber-glass, is that a good idea? Ill be going to Home-Depot tomorrow, so hopefully, I will be able to view the best materials possible.

Can you sketch a quick perspective or isometric view, or the other elevation of your chair ? I'm trying to understand the total form in order to best recommend material and method. As I understand it, the curved seating element and flat front and back panels are sandwiched between flat side panels. If so, are these shaped at the top to the seat profile, or do they extend above the seat ?

Home Depot wil have only flat materials, not specialty material such as those I mentioned above. So, the only way to get the curves shown in your section -- 8" radius ? -- will be to kerf some 3/4" plywood. Or, you could build the curves out of flat stock like 1x2 pine, fir or poplar -- like a park bench with the slats tight together -- and "skin" the resulting faceted surfaces with something like heavy single-ply cardboard. This would make a presentable prototype if not a durable chair.

Well, without a shop I wouldn't be trying to make this piece, frankly. Yes, you need a form to mold your piece over; this could be three identical pieces of 3/4" material (plywood, MDF, etc) cut to the shape of the topside of the seat (you would be making this part upside down). The three pieces would be fastened to a fourth part, a rectangle of the same scrap material, so as to make a "comb" if you will, standing with the three shaped fins upright.

Make or obtain a piece of kerfed plywood (with the face grain running the width of the chair) for just the S-shaped part of the seat. Lay this piece over your form with the smooth side against the form. It will probably be necessary to tack it to the form to keep it in place and conforming to the shape; use small 1" finish nails and no more than two to four, "setting" them into the material 1/4". Then form a piece of bending poplar over the kerfed face of the plywod and glue it with rigid glue (ie, yellow glue) using a small tacking gun (lightweight 1/2" staples), starting at the top or bottom and working methodically; use plenty of glue so it doesn't star to set before you are done. Place staples 2 inches apart along each rib of the kerfed plywood, and closer at each edge. Only if this skin is firmly glued will the piece not delaminate under stress.

You'll have to make the flat part of the seat out of a separate piece of 3/4" plywood and fasten it to the S in such a way that it can take the weight of a seated person; this will probably be two or more L-shaped pieces of plywood attached with 3/4" square screw blocks and glue. This joint is the weak part of the design, structurally. There is no way with wood alone to make this joint without some visible structure beneath the seat, short of a bent piece of sheet steel a foot wide and the full width of the seat.

When the glued poplar skin is fully set (four hours or longer) pull it off of the form, cut the finish nails close to the surface and set them flush. The kerfed plywood will preset a faceted appearance; adding a skin of bending poplar on this face using contact cement will give you a smoother surface, if necessary.

Alright, the "Comb" method is something I planned out to do from the start, but with only 2 forms not 3, because the chair is 2' wide. But the Part I get confused at is, after gluing the poplar on the kerfed face. Is that poplar going to be the final face on the S-Shape?

Btw, the only cutting Tool ill be using is a Jig-Saw, But I still have not bought it yet, should I get a router instead?

Thank you very much, I really appreciate your help!!!

Because you're building the seat upside-down, the poplar with all the staples in it is the bottom of the seat.

You need a different kind of saw to kerf the plywood. I'm not comfortable advising you to buy a Skil saw and using it to kerf this plywood as your first project with it. A router with a 1/8' cutter is a bad idea, and a 1/4" kerf is a little big. Frankly, I'm worried that you've gotten in a little over your head, here.

How much time do you have ? Where are you located ? If you're near a large city there's a chance we can get you to a piece of Kerfcore in time to do this thing.

If that's out, then as a last resort you could rout 1/4" kerfs; just make them about 9/16"- 5/8" deep and on 1 1/4" centers. (Be prepared for lots of nasty dust -- the inside of plywood is scratchy stuff.) Experiment with a scrap to see how bendy it is without being too weak. Can you get the bending poplar ? No other kind of 1/8" plywood is going to bend enough for you.

I'd make a sample piece, following all the steps, before attempting the final seat. There's several ways to fail on this one. . .

I actually have a skill saw at home It's really old and will need a blade change. Lol have some hope, I don't think its BIG BIG deal, I just need to improvise. The only challenge I see is kerning the board. I may not even need to kerf the board, I may just stick to Luan or see the fiber glass. It all depends tomorrow.

OK. What I did when kerfing plywood was to make a straightedge guide with a couple of small nails protruding from the bottom, so you don't have to clamp it down each time you move it. With 1/8" kerfs you can make the grooves 1" apart; mark the plywood at 1" intervals. I'd leave about 1/16" of material at the bottom of the kerf. Make a sample before making your mold pieces, so you can modify the radius if there's a problem getting the plywood to bend without breaking.

I can gurarantee the Luan won't bend for you, but check it out. To lay up fiberglass I guess you can make a cruder version of the form as described, or a form made of 1" or 2" "sticks" nailed to your form pieces. I'd still make three fins, because you're going to be applying pressure during laminating, and because (in the case of the fiberglas form) the sticks will deform while you're working. If two fins, hold them maybe 16" apart; if three, space them 10" apart.

Best of luck. Knock em dead !

Dont Worry My Friend. I will surprise you in a week (even though I am going to build this in a Day). My second concern is if this is going to be an eye-grabber in my portfolio.

hopefully SDR can take a peak at this. Well my schedule kinda got screwed up so it delayed my building process. But, I am glad to say I am almost done, I just have to kerf the plywood, sand, then paint. I only used two forms instead of 3 due to budget on plywood and I believe it can still take the same load if I just added "joists" to each form.



Actually, it does take a lot of load. I sat on the joists without any plywood on top, and it took my load, I even stood on them (on the flat seating area, not the curve), and not even a sound came out. Then I put plywood on top, and it was amazing, it even took more load when i was carrying some weights.



As you can see, I changed the form of the legs. For the front ones, I gave it the same effect as those fat columns that went narrow like the ones used in Egyptian and early Greek (Minoan) times. The rear lags, I pushed them back so they could act like bracing and a leg at the same time because that is the area where most of the weight is going to be concentrated.

Hope you like it so far!

Oka-a-a-y. . . I bet the cat will find it comfortable ! I'm glad to see it has "sides" -- I was unclear about how you intended to build it.

I am in the process of Kerfing the board, and I found out that I will need a lot of kerf cuts to make the board bend. I am using 1/4" thick pine with a luan face. I first tried the making the cuts 2" apart as a test for the second layer, but nope, it will also need more kerf cuts. This is going to be a bitznatch. Wish me luck!!!

If you read above, I suggested cuts 1" apart. 3/4" maple plywood is a good material; the wood won't bend well unless you have cut it almost all the way through so you need a strong and pliable surface veneer to hold the panel together once it is kerfed. Needless to say, the kerfs go at right angles to the directon of the surface grain. . .

As I suggested, a good place to begin the project is to kerf a piece of material and see how tightly you can get it to bend. That will determine how small the radius of your form can be.

A fallback position, if your kerfing experiments fail, is to apply a bunch of 3/4" square sticks to the form, tight together, and (if necessary) a skin of something over them for a finished surface. Or, you could upholster ?

have you done any tests to make sure the chair wont tip over when someone is sitting in that upper part?

yep, I sat on it, stood on it, and even did little minuscule jumps, not even a tip over. The legs do seem deceiving that if you sat on them, they wont support, but they give a lot of support. Ill post a photo to show you guys that it takes my weight and almost anyone elses.

SDR: yeah, thats my final resort, that, or upholster (Yuck)