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Layer スツール by Fuma Fujiwara

Layer スツール by Fuma Fujiwara is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award 銀賞 in 家具デザイン Competition Category.


銀家具· 2023

Layer スツール

by Fuma Fujiwara

Client: Fujiwara Fuma

A' Design Award 銀賞 Winner in 家具 Category

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The Design

About Layer スツール

プロジェクトは小径木や廃材を使って家具を作ることから始まりました。沖縄では自然災害や道路拡張により木材が伐採されています。しかし、近年は環境配慮から道路の拡張が減り、木材も減ってきています。沖縄家具を作り続けるためには、小さな材料を使う必要がありました。そこで、様々な種類の木材を組み合わせてレイヤースツールが誕生しました。廃棄物をアップサイクルして作られています。沖縄県産木材の廃材をブロックとして再構築することで、新たな価値を提案するデザイン。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀賞

Layer 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。Layer 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。Layer 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
This project used small-diameter trees and scrap wood to make furniture. Wood in Okinawa is felled due to natural disasters and road expansion. Large pieces of wood are needed to make furniture. Therefore, I made woodcuts by combining a wide variety of woods. They are made by upcycling discarded materials. This design proposes a new value for the colorful "Okinawa tree".
Dimensions & Packaging
Width 640 mm x Depth 380 mm x Height 500 mm
Tags
stool, furniture, Okinawa, End material
Production Technology
To continue making Okinawan furniture, we need a way to use materials without waste. Therefore, we collected small pieces of wood and trees with small diameters discarded at lumber shops and workshops.

Seat : Camphor tree, Melia azedarach, Magnolia compressa, Castanopsis sieboldii, Acacia confusa, Pinus luchuensis, Tetradium glabrifolium, Trema orientalis, Podocarpus macrophyllus.
Legs : Acacia confusa.
Finish: beeswax.
Design Challenge
Layers are created by stacking trees. Those layers are usually horizontal. To show all the trees on the surface, I was inspired to express this by making the layers slanted. Creating the diagonal layers was the most challenging part. The diagonal layers created beautiful curves. I also tried to find a way to combine light and dark colors in the wood combination.
Research
Okinawa is Japan's southernmost archipelago and was once called the Ryukyu Kingdom. Okinawa has long had a different culture from Japan's main island, and other types of wood have been used. Twenty years ago, trees with large diameters were circulating in Okinawa, but recently the diameter of the trees in circulation is about 35 centimeters, and the material is shrinking. Finding a way to utilize small materials was necessary to sustain Okinawan furniture production, so the research began.
Inspiration
I live in Okinawa, an island in the south of Japan. Okinawa is known as the only subtropical region in Japan and has unique vegetation and culture. Many kinds of trees live on the island. Many types of trees are unique to the island, and I was surprised that there were many characteristic features, such as the trees color, smell, and texture. I made this furniture using nine kinds of Okinawan trees to let people know about Okinawan trees.
Project Duration
The project started in Okinawa in January 2023. The first deliverable was completed in March 2023 and exhibited at the Tokyo International Furniture Fair (IFFT).
Operation Flow
The hand-carved seat has a gentle slope. The indentation in the center of the chair gently fits your waist. The seat and legs of the chair can be disassembled. It is compact and portable and can be transported in flat-pack packaging. When assembling, it can be manufactured immediately just by inserting the legs.
Image Credits
[Image # 1: Photographer Fuma Fujiwara, Layer Stool, 2023]
[Image # 2: Photographer Fuma Fujiwara, Layer Stool, 2023]
[Image # 3: Photographer Fuma Fujiwara, Layer Stool, 2023]
[Image # 4: Photographer Fuma Fujiwara, Layer Stool, 2023]
[Image # 5: Photographer Fuma Fujiwara, Layer Stool, 2023]

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