Grounded Chairs
Historically, earth has been a generous source of building materials, smaller scale artifacts used in landscape design, interior design, and most recently - furniture design. Earthen materials have been used for over a millenia and are still sheltering approximately a third of the world population, providing thermal delight, availability and affordability benefits. These materials are currently experiencing a new renaissance with upscaled visions and construction technologies that stem from the different proportions of clay-rich soil and fibers to provides different features of sculptability, thermal resistivity, and plasticity.
This project envisions cob artifacts for thinly-compressed cob shells that can withstand the forces applied on them when pushed to their optimum potential. Indeed, as an architectural case study, the chair has been an element often used for architect’s to experiment with. From Frank Lloyd Wright’s infamous Robie to Pierre Jeanneret’s Rattan Chair, the chair has been designed by legendary architects as an effort to reinterpret a traditional artifact in a novel way.
As part of this trajectory, the Grounded Chairs is a 100% organic biodegradable low-carbon seating system. The Grounded Chairs series aims to use natural building materials such as clay, sand, fibers, and bamboo, to provide a new interpretation of seating sculptures. By using the thermal advantages of naturally driven mass materials and experimenting with electric heating wires, Grounded Chairs provide sculptural comfort seating that can store heat and absorb moisture to provide optimal thermal comfort, while having sustainability at its core.
Historically, earth has been a generous source of building materials, smaller scale artifacts used in landscape design, interior design, and most recently - furniture design. Earthen materials have been used for over a millenia and are still sheltering approximately a third of the world population, providing thermal delight, availability and affordability benefits. These materials are currently experiencing a new renaissance with upscaled visions and construction technologies that stem from the different proportions of clay-rich soil and fibers to provides different features of sculptability, thermal resistivity, and plasticity.
This project envisions cob artifacts for thinly-compressed cob shells that can withstand the forces applied on them when pushed to their optimum potential. Indeed, as an architectural case study, the chair has been an element often used for architect’s to experiment with. From Frank Lloyd Wright’s infamous Robie to Pierre Jeanneret’s Rattan Chair, the chair has been designed by legendary architects as an effort to reinterpret a traditional artifact in a novel way.
As part of this trajectory, the Grounded Chairs is a 100% organic biodegradable low-carbon seating system. The Grounded Chairs series aims to use natural building materials such as clay, sand, fibers, and bamboo, to provide a new interpretation of seating sculptures. By using the thermal advantages of naturally driven mass materials and experimenting with electric heating wires, Grounded Chairs provide sculptural comfort seating that can store heat and absorb moisture to provide optimal thermal comfort, while having sustainability at its core.
1/2021—Ongoing
Research
Assistants
Assistants
Bisher Tabbaa
Sarah Hejazin
Sarah Hejazin
Special
Thanks
Thanks
Josh Jordan