Silhouette 剪影變形椅 by Jonah Rappaport is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 傢俱設計 Competition Category.

銀傢俱· 2026

Silhouette 剪影變形椅

by Jonah Rappaport

Client: Jonah Rappaport

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 傢俱 Category

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The Design

About Silhouette 剪影變形椅

《剪影》係一張可變形嘅座椅，透過重新配置其主要組件，可以喺扶手椅、休閒椅同躺椅之間自由轉換。佢並唔係依賴外露嘅機械裝置或者藏喺軟墊底下嘅五金件，而係透過重新分配同一批可見組件嘅角色，令椅子喺每個形態下都有清晰嘅定義。憑住流線型嘅雕塑感造型同鮮明嘅結構表現，《剪影》為傳統可變形座椅提供咗一個充滿現代感嘅嶄新選擇。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

Silhouette 剪影變形椅是 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Silhouette 剪影變形椅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。Silhouette 剪影變形椅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: Silhouette is a transformable chair that shifts between an armchair, lounge chair and chaise lounge. Its defining feature is that the structure itself performs the transformation. In the chaise, the suspended headrest and legrest rotate to become load-bearing supports in the armchair, and vice versa. The chair changes function through structural reconfiguration rather than added mechanisms, and in each state the form reads as complete and resolved.
Dimensions & Packaging: Approx. 545 mm x 900 mm x 860 mm (armchair configuration) and 545 mm x 1400 mm x 780 mm (chaise lounge configuration).

Materials: Baltic birch plywood; steel sheet metal; steel rods; aluminum tubing; custom mechanical locking components; rubber gaskets; black powder-coated steel washers and elongated hex nuts; and leather-upholstered cushions.

Finished with a true black stain and clear polyurethane coating.

All moving connections are metal to metal, with no glue or permanent bonds between joints, allowing the chair to be fully disassembled, repaired, and reassembled without degrading the wood elements.
Tags: convertible chair, transformable furniture, adaptive design, experimental furniture, contemporary chair design, multifunctional seating, sculptural minimalism, craftsmanship, human-centered design
Production Technology: Developed through multiple full-scale prototypes, the geometry, proportions, and biomechanics were refined so that each configuration provides appropriate seat depth, height, and support, rather than functioning as a compromise between positions. After extensive hand drawings and scale models, a precise digital twin was developed before fabrication. The chair’s wood components were laser-cut, hand-routed, sanded, and stained, while custom sheet-metal components and steel rods were cut, manually threaded, welded and finished by hand.
Design Challenge: Three main challenges defined the project. Conceptually, the chair had to function and appear resolved in multiple configurations while allowing elements such as the headrest and legrest to shift structural roles. Mechanically, suspended components required the development of a concealed locking system capable of resisting human load without visible hardware or auxiliary mechanisms. Fabrication demanded precise tolerances, extensive prototyping and iterative refinement to reconcile structural performance with formal clarity.
Research: This project is an experimental study on adaptable seating. The objective was to create a single chair that can be transformed to support multiple postures without relying on exposed mechanisms or hiding them beneath upholstery. The methodology combined precedent analysis, including measuring and cataloguing existing chairs and chaise lounges, with hand drawing, digital and physical modeling, and full-scale prototyping. Peers participated in use tests of successive prototypes to analyse and help improve comfort, balance and proportion. The research demonstrates that adaptability in furniture can be achieved without compromising structural clarity or formal integrity, expanding the possibilities for how seating is conceived and produced.
Inspiration: Silhouette emerged from a long-standing interest in transformation in furniture: how an object might adapt to different ways of sitting without compromising formal clarity. It was inspired by the tension between movement and structure, and by the question of whether transformation could emerge from the form itself rather than from added mechanisms. Formally, it draws from the disciplined geometries and material restraint of modernist design while pursuing a distinctly contemporary expression.
Project Duration: The project was conceived at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Designed and fabricated entirely in the school’s wood and metal shops, the chair was completed in June 2024 following a four-month independent design-and-build process.
Operation Flow: The chair transforms through a fluid rotation of its headrest and legrest: when shifting from chaise lounge to armchair, the headrest becomes the rear legs and the legrest the front legs. Concealed locking mechanisms within the base guide and secure each movement, allowing each position to be locked or released smoothly as needed. Adjustable armrests and an infinitely variable backrest support natural transitions in posture, from reclined to upright, with minimal effort and no external tools.
Patents: United Kingdom Design Registration Nos. 6450716, 6450717, 6450718.
European Union Design Registration Nos. 015106528-0001, 015106528-0002, 015106528-0003.
Canadian Design Application No. 241084.
United States Design Patent Application No. 29/979,089.
United States Utility Patent Application No. 19/419,859.
Image Credits: All photography, video, and images by Jonah Rappaport, 2024-26.