Chair of Virtue presents experimental seating at London Design Festival

Digitally shrink-wrapped pores and skin, armrests salvaged from parks and “frozen” resin featured in Prototype/In Course of, an exhibition of seating introduced by digital journal Chair of Advantage throughout London Design Competition.

Displayed below a railway arch at Borough Yards, Prototype/In Course of was made up of 1:1 scale prototypes of chairs, in addition to chairs which are nonetheless works in progress, by 12 London-based designers who’re both established or rising of their area.

Sara Afonso Sternberg introduced sculptural aluminium seating product of armrests salvaged from the center of public benches in Camberwell. The armrests have been initially created to make it troublesome for homeless folks to sleep or relaxation on the benches.

“These objects are given a brand new kind and use, inviting the general public to critically interact with management mechanisms corresponding to hostile structure that permeate the city panorama,” mentioned Afonso Sternberg.

One other piece on show was by Jesse Butterfield. The designer used vacuum infusion, draping and papier-mâché to create a chair lined in resin that was supposed to look “frozen”.

Varied strategies of manufacturing have been showcasedthroughout the present. Daniel Widrig used 3D printing to digitally shrink-wrap an oblong chair with polylactic acid, a starch-based bioplastic.

The result’s a grey-hued chair with an undulating kind, which mirrors the shared type of earlier blobby stools created by the designer.

“Its contours mimic the light curves and pure irregularities of physique tissue, forming intricate folds and wrinkles,” defined Widrig.

Thomas Wheller additionally used aluminium by folding a single piece of the fabric to create his chair, whereas Louis Gibson experimented with “common” building inventory supplies by creating casts from disused pipes.

“I used to be fascinated with imagining how these components might be used unconventionally,” mentioned the designer.

“With such massive volumes, I used to be curious to create casts, after which consider the inner types in a brand new gentle, and at last tackle the issue of reassembly,” added Gibson.

“I selected plaster for the aim of fast setting, I additionally felt it was consistent with the world of builders’ retailers inventory provides.”

Whereas the exhibition concluded on the finish of London Design Competition (LDF), Chair of Advantage is an ongoing venture curated by Adam Maryniak.

Prototype/In Course of was on show on Soiled Lane as a part of the annual competition’s Bankside Design District.

Furnishings created from the stays of a single automobile and a modular show system by Zaha Hadid Design have been among the many many different tasks featured throughout LDF.

The pictures is courtesy of Chair of Advantage. 

Prototype/In Course of was on present as a part of London Design Competition 2023 from 16 to 24 September 2023. See our London Design Competition 2023 information on Dezeen Occasions Information for details about the numerous different exhibitions, installations and talks that befell all through the week.