GLADSTONE DESIGN PRIZE 2008
CONCEPTUAL MOCK-UP
CRAFTED PROTOTYPE - SKETCH STUDIES
The chair is made out of Ash wood which is both strong and attractive to look at with its flowing grain. The light colour of the wood evokes a calm feeling. To create the curved I cut out thin slices of the Ash wood. I would then sand each individual slice, then glue four slices for each part of the chair together. I then put the glued wood into a vacuum which forced the wood to fit the shape of the foam mould I had cut out earlier. The wood dried out and was then fixed to the mould. I carried out this process three times for the legs, five times for the back pieces, and lastly once for the main back curve (which was made by a differently shaped foam mould).
ORTHOGANOL ELEVATIONS
The seat was a lot easier to make as I glued and clamped together three thick pieces of wood. Afterwards I cut and sanded the wooden piece to shape. The base has an unusual but attractive shape assisted with the use of CAD. The three parts for the base were then cut out on the CAD cutting machine which took about 45 minutes. I then sanded, glued and dowelled the three pieces together. I made the triangular prism that connects the three legs out of aluminium because I felt it was stronger and it gave the chair a contemporary finish. Sanding and plaining had to be done to mostly all the parts of the chair. Connecting each individual part together was a slow and careful process as one wrong fitting could ruin the chair. But when it was finally finished all the work had definitely been worth it.