Memphis 折叠椅 by Nora Voon is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award 铁奖 in 家具设计 Competition Category.

铁家具· 2022

Memphis 折叠椅

by Nora Voon

Client: Noda Designs

A' Design Award 铁奖 Winner in 家具 Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #135056

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Memphis 折叠椅

简单而优雅的设计采用防锈不锈钢手工制作而成，并涂有粉末涂层。这款可堆叠折叠椅的灵感来自回形针和童年糖果，具有非常干净和简约的框架设计。我们的想法是制作一把注重细节的折叠椅，例如裸露的黄铜螺钉和整个椅子框架的凹槽。轮廓非常简单，经过精心设计，使其看起来几乎像线条图，从而吸引观看者仔细观察细节。该椅子可以轻松平装或堆叠以进行大量运输

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 铁奖

Memphis 折叠椅是 A' Design Award 铁奖得主，这是授予满足人们对设计精良的创作所期待的专业与工业要求的优良设计的声望认可。铁奖得主展现出其创作者的高超技艺、高度专业化、专家级的理解力和创造能力。预计Memphis 折叠椅将成为一件备受推崇、令人钦佩且被珍爱的创作，既实用又创新。这件赢得 A' Design Award 铁奖的设计整合了行业最佳实践，并拥有与专业知识和才华相结合的称职技术特性。Memphis 折叠椅因其严谨而受到尊重，旨在提供有助于让世界变得更美好的生活品质改善。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: This is a stackable folding chair that has a very clean and minimal frame design. The idea is to make a folding chair that has attention to details like the exposed brass screws and the groove throughout the frame of the chair. The profile is very simple and was designed intentionally to make it look almost like a line drawing therefore draws the viewer to look closer at the details. Memphis can be easily flat packed or stacked for large shipment orders and easy for storage as you can hang them on the wall when not using to save space.
Dimensions & Packaging: W410 x D400 x H815 mm
Tags: folding chair, chair, patio chair, bistro chair, cafe chair, powder coated
Production Technology: Memphis chair is made using stainless steel and has rust proof powder coating. The frame is very simple with a groove in the middle and anchored together using the brass screws and fittings. Collapsible into a flat surface so that it is easy for shipping. For storage, it can be stored laid flat and stacked or it can be hung on a wall to save space. The reason for not having a back rest because I wanted to have a design that is very minimal as folding chairs should be and wanted the form to take centre stage with the idea that it can look almost transparent in a way. The missing back rest does not effect the comfort of the chair.
Design Challenge: The hardest part of this creative challenge is making sure that the frame is strong enough to support the chair - that is why stainless steel came to mind which is a solid and strong material to work with and if painted correctly with powder coating, it can minimize on corrosion. Using stainless steel means the cost is higher but still doable for a mid range product. We showed it on social media and the response was great with lots of enquiries on this product and also a manufacturer in New York wanted to produce them.
Research: When we were working on a commercial project recently and we realized there aren't any good looking fun folding chairs that are good for commercial use such as cafes, bistros, or even public spaces. I embarked on finding a solution for this but also wanted to make sure it can be easily shipped in a flat pack format. We spoke to a few manufacturers and because of the groove we wanted to make sure the corrosion is at a minimal since we wanted this to be a contract furniture which is why the frame is rounded so that accumulation of water is not possible. I used colours that are bright ad cheerful because most folding chairs are either white or silver/chrome finish, I wanted the chair to be fun and exciting which can brighten any interior or exterior.
Inspiration: The Memphis chair is an updated modern take on the folding chair. The simple yet elegant design is handcrafted in rustproof stainless steel in powder coated finish. Inspired from a paperclip and childhood candies, I wanted to create a folding chair that is minimal but yet substantial with attention to detail like the grooves around the chair frame. Anchored together with exposed brass fittings and screws for that extra special touch. The chair is stackable, therefore making it easy for storage (hung) and comes in 5 colours and can easily be shipped in a flat pack.
Project Duration: I started this project out of necessity on January 11th 2022 and did some research on materials, forms and fittings throughout for 2 weeks. The design concept was done in Toronto, Canada but manufacturing will be done in Indonesia.
Operation Flow: The operation is simple, folded chair can be operated using one simple movement by unfolding the chair. The ease of this chair and the simplicity of it makes it a timeless piece, and the fact that one can hang it on a wall to reduce storage space is ideal for small apartments or homes.
Team Members: Nora Voon
Image Credits: Images #1 to #5: render by Katie Zhang
video credit: Katie Zhang