Grace كرسي الصالة

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Grace provides a certain wow factor and the way it is interpreted changes from person to person, from feeling to feeling, making it a unique experience.
An experience that will always be linked to your thoughts and how you feel.

Dimensions & Packaging

Width 900mm x Depth 910mm x Height 680mm

Tags

Furniture, chair, productdesign, lounge, seating, indoor, organic, 3Dprint, stereolithography, Belgium

Production Technology

3D printed structure. The material used is called Tusk SolidGrey3000 which is the world's first Stereolithography material that combines a high degree of stiffness with high impact resistance, available exclusively at Materialise.
The chair was tested from 2000N to 6000N. The displacement in the seating area ranges from 2mm to 5mm (for 2000N and 6000N respectively) and 3.5mm to 11mm at the top of the back rest.

The fabric used for the manual upholstery is Tonus 4, colour 0610, from Kvadrat because of its flexibility and durability. On the outsides of the design, high resilience foam is used for added comfort.

Design Challenge

Finding a material that could follow the shapes while having the strength and rigidity to support the weight of an adult without deforming.

He wanted to use a fully recycled plastic to 3D print the design. However, this was not yet possible with the available materials, which at the same time had to meet the necessary strength requirements, etc.

He had the chair upholstered. Even though an elaboration without any upholstery would be perfectly conceivable.

If a pattern would be cut by machine, some details from the upholstery could be finished in a more refined way.

Research

The design arises as a reflection of emotions that you cannot capture with a simple word, but rather express through a movement, a certain flow. The spiritual, indescribable and mysterious is what resulted in the design.

Inspiration

Grace was a way to translate feelings and emotions a single word can not describe.

Inspired by nature with its complexity hidden behind elegant and flawless forms.

This in combination with the conviction that form doesn't and shouldn't always follow function, but rather should be able to follow emotion. They merge together. It's something you strongly see in dance. Ballet and tango for example. Translating emotions and feelings by transcending oneself in a form or movement.

Project Duration

End of December 2020: First sketch.
January 2021: First digital plans.
June 17, 2021: 3D printed structure was delivered.
March 11, 2022: Collection of the fully upholstered and finished chair in Antwerp.

Operation Flow

As you walk around it, from every angle you discover something new that changes the interpretation of what you see. Some may recognise a bird, a plant, a child may think of a ghost. This gives the design a certain personality and soul.

It has an elegance and form that somehow is timeless. It could go with different finishes and materials and fit in different settings. From high-end use in the lobby of a hotel to furniture in a private home.
Even when not in use, the design leaves behind a kind of sculpture that enhances the space it resides in.

Image Credits

Ypsilon Business Photography, 2022