ChaiseLounge

Exploring open-source furniture design and digital fabrication anchored this project at FabLab Torino. The work focused on developing a lounge chair optimized for CNC technologies and laser cutting, utilizing standard materials available in maker spaces. The core objective was to build a functional, reproducible seating structure from a single sheet of plywood, testing how digital manufacturing could yield complex ergonomic forms without requiring specialized industrial tooling.

The physical artifact was developed to be entirely milled or laser-cut from a single standard sheet of plywood. The structural architecture combined a rigid base of interlocking components with a flexible, suspended wooden membrane. To build this hanging surface, a series of triangular plywood elements were integrated using simple wire connections and clamps. This assembly method formed a three-dimensional catenary mesh, allowing rigid planar materials to behave as a flexible, ergonomic seating surface.

Validating the design required balancing structural robustness with material constraints, ensuring the entire assembly could be nested and cut from one plywood sheet. The interlocking base had to be iterated to support the dynamic loads of the suspended mesh without requiring external hardware or adhesives. Testing the catenary mesh involved adjusting the wiring and clamp connections between the triangular elements to achieve the correct tension and flexibility, ultimately validating the unexpected ergonomic behavior of the wooden membrane.

The open-source design was released under a Creative Commons license and reproduced at Aalto Fablab for the Helsinki World Design Capital. The project was named a Winner at Autoprogettazione 2.0, a competition sponsored by Domus magazine, and was exhibited at Palazzo Clerici during Milan Design Week. Following these deployments, the chair was incorporated into the Permanent Collection at CNAP in Paris.