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Joseph Piorkowski

Joseph Piorkowski

Brooklyn, NY, US

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Fiberglass Rope Chair

The fiberglass rope chair is a result of an explorative semester in Contemporary Furniture Design under the direction of Katrin Mueller-Russo.  Beginning with an intuitive full scale styrene model, the design was tailored and eventually translated materially into fiberglass rope. 

 

The fabrication process used a weave and stitch technique by means of a jig assembly that enabled the chair to be created in tension.  The chair is a synchronic snapshot of tension, as the jig is removed and the product is freestanding once the resin has cured.

Various tests and experiments were conducted with resin application and execution.  For the final prototype, a UV curing resin was chosen that enabled a longer time frame for application.  The resin was cured with natural sunlight and a 120 watt UV lamp after the ropes were saturated thoroughly. 

The final prototype is both lightweight and extremely strong, despite a fragile aesthetic.  It weighs roughly 3.2 lbs. and has supported 205 lbs.

 
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Status: School Project
Location: Philadelphia, PA, US
My Role: Designer and Fabricator

 
Evolution of the Weave/Stitch
Evolution of the Weave/Stitch
Finished Detail
Finished Detail