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Swing Ao スツール by Takusei Kajitani

Swing Ao スツール by Takusei Kajitani is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award 銀賞 in 家具デザイン Competition Category.


銀家具· 2022

Swing Ao スツール

by Takusei Kajitani

Client: Consentable

A' Design Award 銀賞 Winner in 家具 Category

31,710

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #135261

Colors

The Design

About Swing Ao スツール

従来の椅子の多くは、人間の身体は動くように設計されているにもかかわらず、座ることは静止した状態であるという考えに基づいて設計されています。スウィングAoは、座る人の骨盤の動きに合わせてシートが自由に動くテンション構造となっています。これにより、浮遊感と骨盤、背骨、周囲の筋肉の動きが促進され、小さなブランコをするような感覚で身体の機能が活性化されます。また、座面が8度傾斜しているため、据え置き型のスツールとしても使用でき、背筋を伸ばした健康的な姿勢を保つことができます。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀賞

Swing Ao スツールは、見事で印象的なハイエンドのデザインに授与される、非常に権威ある評価である A' Design Award 銀賞の受賞作品です。銀賞の受賞作品は、きわめて輝かしく創造性に富んだ作品であり、デザイナーの傑出した専門知識、才能、洞察力を示しています。Swing Ao スツールは、素晴らしい代表作であり、驚くほどプロフェッショナルで、深く革新的であることが期待されます。この A' Design Award 銀賞を受賞したデザインは、非常に注目すべき称賛される発明であり、芸術・科学・デザイン・技術の境界に寄与し、それを前進させます。Swing Ao スツールは、多くの人に羨まれる創造物であり、欲求を呼び覚まし、前向きな感情をもたらし、驚きと感嘆を灯します。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Swing is designed with a tension structure that allows the seat to move freely in conjunction with the movement of the sitter's pelvis. As a result, you can enjoy a floating sensation, and it promotes the movement of the pelvis, spine, and surrounding muscles, thereby activating your body's functions like playing on a small swing. And you can also sit on it as a regular stool with an 8-degree angle seat to maintain a healthy posture that prevents hunching over.
Dimensions & Packaging
Diameter 300mm x Height 450mm, made of solid black cherry wood with indigo-dyed finish collaborated with Ao team in Tokyo. The suspension material is 3mm rope for dinghy. The seat is upholstered with artificial leather over 60mm thick urethane cushion.
Tags
Athlete, Health, Body balance, Stool, Chair, Swing, Dynamic, Tensegrity, Tension
Production Technology
Swing consists of an upper seat structure, a lower leg structure, and a suspension material that connects both of them. A plurality of suspension materials connected to the leg structure suspend a rod extending downward from the seat structure. The rod of the seat structure passes through a hole arranged in the center of the top panel of the leg structure. The diameter of the hole in the leg structure is larger than the diameter of the rod in the seat structure, and the user can move the seat freely within the difference in diameters.
Design Challenge
First of all, I wondered if it would be possible to develop a chair that would benefit athletes and stimulate their athletic sense. And I began to study body manipulation and body structure, then became interested in the changes in body structure during the process of human evolution, or the functional significance of the missing tail. At that time, I realized that the sense of balance in the body is very important for athletes. And the image of Swing was coming to me.
Research
I referred to The Alexander Technique For Musicians by Peter Buckoke for information on how to use the human body. In particular, I focused on the importance of the sense of balance that we unconsciously have.
For the design of the suspension structure, I took a hint from Tensegrity by Buckminster Fuller.
Inspiration
The most chair have been designed on the idea that sitting is a static movement despite the human body is designed to move. It forces our body to stay rigid for a long time, accelerating our body's dis-activation. Swing is designed for solving this problem with a tension structure that allows the seat to move freely in conjunction with the movement of the sitter's pelvis like a small swing. You can enjoy a floating sensation with activating your body's functions with this stool.
Project Duration
Swing project started as The Chair for Athlete project in Tokyo in April 2021, and the initial model of Swing was completed in November 2021.
Operation Flow
This is a stool that can be used in two sitting modes: dynamic and static.When sitting dynamically, you sit in such a way that the rod extending under the seat touches the hole for penetration in the base parts as little as possible, and move your pelvis, hip joints, and spine to enjoy the swing of the seat. Enjoy dynamic sitting when you want to sit back or change your mind.When sitting statically, sit leaning forward so that the rod extending under the seat touches the hole. You can sit in a straight posture because the seat is fixed at an angle of about 8 degrees.
Patents
Design registration pending. Takusei Kajitani. Certificate of Design Registration, Japan Patent Office.
Team Members
Ao Designer: Yoh Miyachi
Craftsman: Ryosuke Tanaka
Image Credits
Image #1-5: Photographer Yoko Inoue, Variations, 2022.

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