Bronze Furniture Design · 2021
Smile Chair
by Xu Le
- A' Design Award 2021 Bronze Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: Zhijiang college of zhejiang university of technology
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 12,391
- Verification code 982488B2E7 · Verify this award
About Smile Chair
Smile is a wooden chair designed for everyday use. The backrest is shaped like a slightly raised corner of a mouth, which gives the chair its name. The armrests, front legs and rear legs appear as one piece of wood that has been split and has grown, reflecting the idea of the growth of all things. The curved lines of the armrests and backrest are light, smooth and full, and they create a soft shadow effect. The chair is made of beech and North American walnut, shaped by a wood bending process. The seat and the backrest are refined to improve comfort.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The chair adopts advanced cold-curved wood technology in the process, uses the least materials to achieve the noble material sense of natural solid wood, and also fully uses the toughness of the wood itself. The rigorous and meticulous production process conveys the warmth of ingenuity and allows the owner to produce a heart of love.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Product Size: 597*484*760 (mm) Product weight: 4.8 kg Product volume: 0.22 m3
- Tags
- S,C
- Production Technology
- Production technology: wood bending process. Materials: Beech, North American walnut.
- Design Challenge
- The connection between the armrest and stool leg of the chair works like a piece of wood that grows after being split. These flowing curves increase the difficulty of production, and are also a great challenge to the production process. Before production, the designer prints out drawings and 3D printed models. Designers and woodworkers have discussed the appearance, dimensions, and craftsmanship many times to minimize errors in production and better restore the design of drawings. Designers use wood's hot bending technology to make handrails. In addition, the connecting part on the seat back has chosen the domino connection structure to restore the drawings as much as possible.
- Project Duration
- The project started in April 2019 in Hangzhou and finished in August 2020 in Hangzhou.
- Operation Flow
- Chairs are so common that few people care about them. The design of Mua Chair is to improve the details of chair surface and backrest to enhance the comfort, and the curve design of armrest can let users experience complete smoothness.
- Research
- Design background: I hope that designing a comfortable chair will also allow users to have a love of things and experience the aesthetics of life. Method: The ancient people's philosophical ideas were extracted, and the concept of the growth of all things was incorporated into the shape of the chair. In terms of aesthetics, the connection between the armrest and the stool leg grew like a piece of wood after being split. Incorporate the degree of line changes in traditional painting and calligraphy works into the lines of the chair, giving the shape a sense of integrity.
- Inspiration
- The backrest of the chair is like a slightly raised corner of the mouth, hence the name "Smile - Chair". The armrests, front legs, and rear legs of the laughing chair are visually like a piece of wood that has been split and grown, reflecting the concept of growth of everything. The delicate lines of the armrest and backrest are like silk, light and supple, full and exquisite, and extremely tension, and create a special shadow effect.