A Restless Chairacter by Pepe Heykoop

pepe-heykoop

By Jeanne Tan / 02-02-2009

A chair for restless souls.

Pepe Heykoop’s chair ‘A Restless Chairacter’ must be every teacher’s worst nightmare. Which student hasn’t heard the familiar reprimanding in their school classrooms, ‘Don’t rock back on your chairs!’ This chair encourages just that.

The chair by the recent Design Academy Eindhoven graduate was the winner of the [d3] contest for young designers which was organised by IMM Cologne. Out of 827 designs submitted, 31 projects were selected to form an exhibition at the recent IMM Cologne 2009.

The concept of the chair is based on wobbly old chairs. Whilst appearing like an archetypal wooden chair, the construction is in fact aluminium which is hidden under its flexible skin. The wobbliness is achieved through flexible joints made of rubber which also makes it more comfortable, taking away the stiffness of sitting in the traditional chair. While it may feel slightly unsettling to sit on the chair, the design is perfect for those people who just can’t seem to sit still.

Design.nl

Matt Mullenweg’s Mystery Chair (003)

Matt Mullenweg Sofa
WordPress guru Matt Mullenweg AKA Photo Matt took this photo somewhere in Vermont. Curious what it is.

Round Rattan Chair by Isamu Kenmochi

Round Rattan Chair C-315-E by Kenmochi Design Associates
Found this photo of Isamu Kenmochi’s round rattan chair at the site of Artnet Magazine

More importantly:

Isamu Kenmochi Chairs are now available!!
Noguchi Museum is now distributing the iconic Isamu Kenmochi Rattan Chair.
Kenmochi Chair c. 1960 Retail Price $2200.00 with black cushion

The Chair is in the Design Collection of the Museum of Modern Art and has not been widely available in North America.

Corresponding Exhibition

Design: Isamu Noguchi and Isamu Kenmochi
From September 19, 2007 through March 16, 2008

The Noguchi Museum will present Design: Isamu Noguchi and Isamu Kenmochi, an exploration of the dynamic relationship between the two designers, and how the cross-fertilization of traditional Japanese aesthetics, materials and fabrication techniques and western modernism and production methods influenced in each designer’s work. Additionally, the exhibition will trace Noguchi’s early furniture designs and how they affected his work in Japan in the early 1950s as well as its impact on Kenmochi and the Industrial Arts Research Institute. It will also bring to the forefront an awareness and appreciation of the significance of Kenmochi’s contribution to modern 20th century design. The exhibition will include approximately 25 furniture, interior and industrial design objects by Kenmochi and drawings and vintage photographs. Most will be borrowed from collections in Japan. There will be approximately 25 objects by Noguchi, most importantly his furniture from the Shin Banraisha, borrowed from Keio University, in addition to drawings and photographs. Of particular interest and pivotal to this exhibition will be the replication of the strikingly original iron and woven bamboo chair that Noguchi and Kenmochi collaborated on in 1950, which is no longer extant.

See the Nochuchi Museum at Long Island City.

Frozeniture – Core77

Frozen Furniture

University of Wisconsin art student Hongtao Zhou’s “Ice & Snow Furniture Raised From Lake Mendota” is the ultimate in recyclable furniture. “They connect the lake, the land, the air and the people and complete a life cycle with minimum environmental impact,” explains Zhou. And it is, of course, perfectly fine to dump the furniture back into the lake once it starts getting warm out.

Frozeniture – Core77

Ooch Chair by Sam Sannia

Ooch Chair by Sam Sannia

Ooch Chair from the mind of Sam Sannia, whose other designs are equally quirky and similarly intriguing. Check out his website for more info on Sannia.

Via The World’s Best Ever