the Layer Chair

Layer Chair iteration by Nick Graham

Layer stool by Nick Graham

This Layer Stool was created by Nick Graham at FabLab Wellington, New Zealand. Nick loaded his custom profile curves into my parametric design system to make a stool iteration of the Layer Chair series. Nick is a generally awesome guy doing a master in Open Design at Massey University. More info about the stool and Nicks research here. Great experience to be surprised by someone finding new possibilites with an open design.

Nick also invited me to participate in his Exquiste Corpse design experiment, where three participants had to design a part of a chair without knowing what the other two had designed. Nick designed the four legs, and Continue Reading →

More mountain chairs

DCIM101GOPRO

I have made two more mountain chairs at FabLab Lyngen. One from Pollfjellet and one from Fornestind. I have developed a parametric system in Grasshopper that takes the input of a mountain profile and the height above sealevel, and outputs the milling files ready nested with part numbers. 13 more mountain chairs coming when I return to Haakons lab this winter. Continue Reading →

the Layer Chair – Band edition

Band chair detail

The latest CNC milling experiment is constructing by plastic bands instead of glue or screws. The layers are kept together by tight plastic bands and clips, the type you normally use for sealing cardboard boxes and pallets. The challenge was to keep the layers aligned without dowels or pins. I updated the parametric system to make wider and narrower gaps according to the surface curvature at each layer. The closer to the edge, the wider the hole needs to be for the band to fit through. Continue Reading →

the Layer Chair – Sevilla edition

No matching videos

I showed the ongoing Layer Chair project here in Sevilla and it turned into a very interesting open design collaboration. Three groups of students at FabLab Sevilla downloaded and customized their own versions of the Layer Chair. One group was inspired by the classic Eames lounge chair, one group made the perfect chair for architecture students and the final group experimented with weaving a seat from thin rope.

The chairs are currently exposed and for sale at gallery Lugadero in Sevilla. For the opening night I created an interactive chair design system where visitors could design a chair with their own body. With the Kinect component for Firefly I could read out the position of the visitors head and hips. The height of you head determined the height of your chair, and the angle of your back determined the backrest. Tracking two people at the time making their own designs was very entertaining.

It was an interesting experience to exhibit a design system and an open process instead of showing a finished product. More open collaboration communication coming soon. Continue Reading →

The Layer Chair – Viking edition

lyngen chair01

At MIT FabLab Lyngen, Haakon has a very interesting table and chair project going on. He is going to replace the main dining table with a large fjord-like table made from massive wood. And the chairs will be replaced with 16 tall ones, with profiles matching the 16 highest mountain peaks of the Lyngen Alps. After telling Haakon about my parametric chair project, there was no doubt that we had to combine our ideas. Continue Reading →

The Layer Chair – Cello edition

Layer Chair - Cello edition

In Amsterdam I had the pleasure of not only meeting the world famous cellist Frances Marie Uitti, but to also make a custom cello playing version of the Layer Chair for her. After a performance in the Theatrum Anatomicum, she fell in love with the parametric chair design that I have developed. And once Alex Schaub told her that it is possible to adjust the profile and size of the chair anyway you like, we had no choice but to make one for her. Continue Reading →

The Layer Table

Layer Table - by DyvikDesign - 01

Now that Alex had some fancy new black chairs in his lab, he realized that he wanted a table to go with the chairs. So, I designed a parametric table that matches the shape language of the Layer Chair. The design lets you specify the measurement of any plate you would like to use as a table top. The output of the Grasshopper definition is a table frame that fits your plate of leftover material.

Continue Reading →

The Layer Chair – Amsterdam edition

Layer Chair - by DyvikDesign - Collection of three

Alex Schaub (FabLab manager Amsterdam) liked the Layer Chair I made in the HONFablab Indonesia so much that we decided to make a few for his lab as well. We used one sheet of 18mm black MDF per chair. Colored MDF is a very intersting material for making large objects on the ShopBot. We are currently investigating different finishing processes like lacquering and waxing so that the chair will be spill proof.

Continue Reading →

The Layer Chair

Layer Chair - DyvikDesign scaled

I made the layer chair as an example of how to work with large organic surfaces on the shopbot. It was also a good excuse to make something a bit more refined and comfortable for the interior of the HONFablab. It is parametric design made in Grashopper, which makes it very easy to adjust the sitting profile, width, height, material thickness and so on. The Grasshopper definition uses two input curves. One for the midprofile of the seat, and one for the sideprofile. The definition outputs cutting lines, alignment holes and “trim lines” for making the inside of the seating more organic. In a way it is 2.5D process with manual control of the steps used to create the 3D surface.

Continue Reading →