Tobias Kappeler · CLIENT: Tobias Kappeler Design
Haragana is a lounge chair made from bent steel tubes and cork disks. The chair is reduced to its essential structure, so no cushions or upholstery are used. The outline resembles an armchair, although armrests are absent. The low seating position of 28 centimetres invites people to lean back and observe their surroundings for a longer time. The open frame keeps the chair visually light and allows it to fit into interior spaces without claiming much attention. The simple cork disks contrast with the curved tubular structure. Each chair is bent, welded and sanded by hand.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Haragana is a lounge chair made from bent steel tubes and cork disks for seating. The outline of the chair resembles and reminds of an armchair however there are no cushions or upholstery. The chair is reduced to the essential structure, giving it a light and airy design, which fits perfectly in interior spaces without taking up too much space visually. The simple graphical cork seating disks provide contrast to the more complex underlying tubular structures.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The chair has a width of 75cm, a length of 65cm and a height of 65cm. To add additional support to the legs, a thin stainless steel rod was welded in between the legs. The seating position is purposely low 28cm to ensure people stay seated for longer and enjoy the experience, their surroundings and thoughts that come when taking a break.
- Tags
- Furniture Design, Chair Design, Lounge Chair, Tubular Design, Observation.
- Production Technology
- The chair was made from 19 and 16mm steel tubes and cork. After an extensive study on the design territory “observation” small scale prototyping and sketching the chair was produced fully by hand without any automated machines. Steel tubes were bent by hand and welded together, piece by piece. First the outline, then the inside structure, then the legs and lastly the seating of the chair. After welding it together, the chair was sanded down and spray painted. The cork was sanded and then added.
- Design Challenge
- The challenge was to produce a chair with a complex curved shape that was still symmetrical. This required several attempts and an in-depth observation from several angles. As tubular systems for furniture design have been explored before, the challenge was to come up with a design that is new and still interesting. To keep the light feel of the chair, the structure needed to be strong and stable.
- Project Duration
- The project started in January 2020 and was developed by myself as part of my MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering degree. The project duration was 4 weeks and was exhibited at the Royal College of Art in February 2020.
- Operation Flow
- Due to its low and comfortable seating point, it invites people to stay seated for longer. In addition, having only the essential structures and the seating of the chair, its light and open design smoothly integrates into the interior without claiming too much attention but still allowing for a more complex shape to be present.
- Research
- The project started with an exploration into the theme of observation and how to create a seating experience that could last for a longer period. A strong driver of the project was prototyping on a scale of 1:10 with steel rods that were spot-welded together. This allowed for quick iterations on different shapes and to explore different curves and their relation with each other. The tools used to produce the chair were very simple, a tube bending machine, a welding machine and a sanding machine.
- Inspiration
- We live in a fast-paced world where everything must happen instantly and thus, we often forget to take a break, lean back and just observe our surroundings. The aim was to create a chair in which you stay and remain seated for a while.
Studying the territory of observation the design invites and resembles this as well. What you see, is actually not what you see. Perceived is an armchair due to the emphasized outline which resembles an armchair, however, there are no armrests.
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