Mode Armchair by Hitoshi Motomura is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award in Furniture Design Competition Category.
IronFurniture· 2022
Mode Armchair
Client: Idea Interior Design Office
A' Design Award Winner in Furniture Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #131103The Design
About Mode Armchair
Mode is an armchair with a simple, contemporary form and a classical feel that coexists. It consists of a long leg frame and a rounded shell panel. The leg frame has two different finishes, scratch and mirror, and the wood grain shell panel has a special finish that changes its color and texture depending on the angle. The wood grain shell panel has a sharp double-sided design, with the material switched between inside and outside. Mode is a comfortable armchair with a thin shell panel, so the seat is spacious even though the outer width is only 52cm, making it the most compact form ever.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award
Mode Armchair is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Mode Armchair is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Mode Armchair is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Interviews
Grand Interview
Your innovative approach to combining contemporary form with classical elements in Mode Armchair has garnered recognition at the A' Design Award - could you elaborate on how you achieved this delicate balance in the design process?
This design was created using lines that have been simplified to the absolute minimum—sensual lines that would be impossible to achieve through mass-production perspectives and manufacturing methods.The result is a piece that is modern yet possesses a classic feel or touch.It blends seamlessly into a variety of spaces, and I believe you’ll see why when you view the perspective renderings showing it placed in simulated environments.
The Mode Armchair features a remarkable 2mm-thick aluminum shell with special wave-polished finishing - what inspired this unique material choice, and how does it enhance both the aesthetic and functional aspects of the design?
METAL is an effective material for achieving compactness and lightness. In contrast, WOOD offers an organic and natural alternative.We initially produced the product with a wooden shell, but it was angular and heavy. (See photo.)The alternative material is an aluminum shell with a three-dimensional wood grain print.Although it is expensive, we were able to round the corners, which not only reduced the weight but also improved safety and durability.
Your research indicates that Mode Armchair was conceived with urban spaces in mind - how did Tokyo's spatial constraints influence the development of this compact yet luxurious 52cm-wide design?
When designing restaurants in central Tokyo, I often found that the minimum width for a two-person table was 600 millimeters.Based on my experience, the optimal arrangement for chairs and tables is for the chair width to be narrower than the table width; this also looks more visually appealing.The number of seats in a restaurant is a crucial factor for business operations, especially in smaller establishments. Standard wooden armchairs are typically over 65 centimeters wide, which is inefficient and makes them heavy.Furthermore, ordinary armless chairs fail to convey a sense of luxury or privacy. They also leave the diner’s feet too exposed when viewed from the side.Napkins slide onto the floor, and there’s no place to set down a small bag.In Tokyo, the reality is that we must constantly seek ways to create a space where people can relax, even in spaces that are by no means spacious.Chairs play a major role in achieving this.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The long frame extending up to the arms lightly supports the compact shell and gives the shell a sense of floating. The sharp material shift between the hard wood panels on the outside of the shell and the soft fabric on the inside gives the chair a contemporary look, while at the same time creating a design with two different faces on the front and sides.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 520mm Height 720mm Depth 500mm Weight 11kg
Fabric upholstery on hard urethane, outer wood grain pattern aluminum panel, stainless steel legs - Tags
- arm chair, compact chair, chair, dining Chairs, restaurant Chairs
- Production Technology
- The chair weighs only 11 kg and is 52 cm wide, making it very compact for an arms shell chair. The 2mm-thick aluminum shell is a new material made of 6H-hard wood grain wave-polished aluminum. The special polishing changes the color and depth depending on the angle and the way the light hits it. This special lightweight aluminum panel allows the user to bend the corners, which is difficult to do with ordinary wood, to create a beautiful shell shape that is lightweight, compact, and strong enough. The shape of the shell is created using state-of-the-art laser cutting and bending technology, while the inner cushion seat is made by the delicate handiwork of chair craftsmen. The fusion of state-of-the-art machine technology and the high level of craftsmanship in handwork has resulted in a compact, high-quality armchair.
- Design Challenge
- In addition to design and safety, functional requirements are also becoming more sophisticated.
Even for chairs, there is the pursuit of a design that is more in tune with the times while combining new materials and technologies, and making new proposals is always a difficult part of the process. - Research
- Working as an interior designer in Tokyo, Japan, the challenge is to create a space that is usable, luxurious, and efficient. Taking into account the space efficiency of urban areas, creating chairs that are compact, yet comfortable and luxurious solves many of the challenges, especially when designing restaurants.
- Inspiration
- This armchair is small, but comfortable and beautiful.
We aimed to achieve both a simple and beautiful form that fits in any space and high functionality as a chair. The design also expresses both by adding classic elements in a simple and contemporary form. - Project Duration
- The idea for the base was born in 2000 and redesigned in 2020.
A prototype was created in 2021. - Operation Flow
- It is easy to pull the chair with fingers on the frame or to stand up with hands on the arms. The examined construction of the frame enhances the functionality of the chair as an easy chair to relax, sit and stand up. The frame's antiqued hair finish is scratch resistant, and the mirrored finish and surface transition also make the frame appear longer and slimmer. The shell panel and inner cushions are removable and can be freely combined.
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