How do you create a stable cantilevered piece of furniture that can sustain the weight of a person and other items?
To create a portable cantilevered chair that can be configured in multiple ways. Not only can it be used for individual seating, each stool can be connected to another, creating seating for two.
Weight distributed and concentrated differs depending on how the user sits on the chair. By adding curves to the chair, the load always rests in the same position, reducing the possibilities of stress on vulnerable areas. This seating arrangement should be able to fit into most casual settings and should cause interaction/distraction among peers.
After researching how cantilevered objects react to different loads and forces around moments, we designed and iterated based on calculations of an object weighing 250 lbs on the cantilevered area of the chair.
Once the calculations were finalized, we begin testing different types of wood to figure out how to create the most structurally sound solution. After steaming multiple types of wood in a steam chamber and bending them to each type's limit, we settled on an internal structure of ash and baltic birch plywood.
Bent laminated plywood was used as the frame of the stool and served as the basic form for the remainder of the chair.
Steam bent ash was used to create a torsion box inside the stool, strengthening the piece.
Mortised pieces of ash were used as the connection method for the stools.
Orange Oil was used to give a light finish and maintain the original color of the wood.
After multiple iterations on theh design and calculations, we arrived at this solution.
