Tha Chair by Jun Nakano is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 Bronze A' Design Award in Furniture Design Competition Category.
BronzeFurniture· 2024
Tha Chair
by Jun Nakano
Client: Jun Nakano
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Furniture Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #161465The Design
About Tha Chair
Tha is a four legged armchair that can be stacked from the front as well as the back. This is a revolutionary idea in chair history, already patented and very convenient. It can easily and smoothly be stacked with a slight lift from the back, even if the table is in front. Nothing has been sacrificed in design or seating comfort for this feature. It is designed with simple lines that do not require excessive handwork.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Tha Chair is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Tha Chair is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Tha Chair splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Grand Interview
Your innovative approach to stackable chair design with THA Chair challenges a 4,000-year tradition - could you elaborate on the moment of insight that led you to question why chairs could only be stacked from the front?
One day I was sitting in an aligned chair. In front of me I could see the back of the chair in front of me. The idea occurred to me that it would be more efficient to stack the many chairs in this row from the back in order to clear them out.
The THA Chair's ability to be stacked from both front and back represents a significant breakthrough in furniture design - how did you overcome the structural engineering challenges while maintaining the chair's aesthetic appeal and comfort?
The structure, which can be stacked from behind, is patented. This means that the patent office has recognized that this structure has never existed before. However, there was a problem of strength, especially in the case of wooden chairs. Therefore, to prevent the load from being concentrated in one point, several parts were thinly shaved so that the load would be dispersed by the elasticity of the wood.
Your background in traditional woodworking and modern technology seems to converge beautifully in THA Chair - how did this dual expertise influence your design decisions, particularly in achieving both simplicity and functionality?
I have mastered traditional Japanese woodworking techniques and make my own prototypes to realize my ideas.In doing so, I put together a design while also envisioning the production process and efficiency of the product. The result is an innovative chair with a simple structure.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- "THA Chair" is a four-legged armchair that can be stacked not only from the front but also from the back.
This is a revolutionary idea in the history of chairs and is very convenient. For example, if you want to stack regular chairs with a table in front, it is very difficult to pull the chairs out wide and stack them from the front. Additionally, it must be raised to seat height. Meanwhile, this chair can be stacked smoothly with only a slight lift. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 650mm x Depth 540mm x Height 820mm
- Tags
- Chair, Stacking, Furniture, Patented, Innovative
- Production Technology
- The curved surface of the backrest is smooth and provides firm back support. The armrest is composed of straight lines and curved lines, which eliminates excessive manual work and contributes to cost reduction. The aim was to create a simple and functional design that eliminates unnecessary decorations. The structure is also very simple and does not require any moving parts to flip up the seat like traditional nesting chairs.
- Design Challenge
- This structure had problems with its strength, but by making the legs and armrests thinner, it was able to flexibly withstand the load. It has a structure that does not sacrifice functionality or comfort as a chair. The name THA comes from the silhouette of the chairs when lined up.
- Research
- Regular stackable chairs cannot be stacked from the back, regardless of whether they have armrests or not. And in the history of chair design, which is said to have a history of 4,000 years, armchairs that can be stacked from the back have not become popular at all. The improved positioning of the armrests and front legs contributes to this innovative feature.
- Inspiration
- Why did we never question the fact that chairs can only be stacked from the front? To eliminate this inconvenience, we improved the positioning and processing of the legs and armrests so that they could be stacked from the back.
This patented idea and structure can also be applied to steel chairs, creating a new trend in stackable chair design. - Project Duration
- We applied for a patent and design in 2019, presented a prototype of this chair design in Tokyo in 2021, updated it further, and exhibited it at the IFFT Tokyo International Furniture Fair in March 2024. The prototype has been completed and sales are about to begin.
- Operation Flow
- You can stack the chairs in different ways depending on the situation, such as from the back if the table is in front of you, or from the front if it is leaning against a wall. When stacked from the front, they have the same functionality as regular chairs, but when stacked from the back, they don't have to be lifted as high and are even more functional. This is especially important if you are loading the cart high up.
- Image Credits
- All image and video rights are reserved by Jun Nakano.
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