Swing Ao 凳子 by Takusei Kajitani is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 傢俱設計 Competition Category.

銀傢俱· 2022

Swing Ao 凳子

by Takusei Kajitani

Client: Consentable

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 傢俱 Category

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Verified Award Winner

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The Design

About Swing Ao 凳子

大多數傳統椅子的設計理念是，儘管人體被設計為可以移動，但坐是一種靜態狀態。 Swing Ao具有張力結構，可以讓座椅隨著就座者骨盆的運動而自由移動。這會促進一種漂浮感以及骨盆、脊柱和周圍肌肉的運動，激活身體的功能，就像玩小鞦韆一樣。此外，它還可以用作固定凳，座面呈 8 度角，以保持健康的姿勢和拉長的脊柱。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

Swing Ao 凳子是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計Swing Ao 凳子將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。Swing Ao 凳子是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。

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.