DETAILS

Designed and built while I was a student at RISD, this chair is an homage to René Descartes, whose Cartesian coordinates (X, Y, and Z axes) mark points in space. Here, the object marked is the human body, rendered in minimal materials. The chair puzzles together with hidden slots and holes, and holds together through friction and gravity. It can be come apart and be flat-packed. There is no metal, and no fasteners.

Because the materials are ‘hard’, I subtracted a slot in the back so that the spine would be supported on either side. The thinness of the back is intentional: thin enough for each ‘wing’ of the back to flex independently under the body’s pressure, and with spine supported by a dowel located at the lumbar’s hinge point.

Mahogany and Birch Plywood

Built: Mock-up and Prototype: 1989