THE PERT CHAIR. 2011. while a Graduate Student at the University of Texas at Austin

DESCRIPTION

Called "Pert" for its cheeky and improbable form that suggests a plasticity belied by its sturdiness, this chair is inspired from the bent plywood explorations of Alvar Aalto and George Nakashima's grass seat chairs. Constructed as the final project for a class in wood design, the chair is built in 1/8th inch bent laminated birch plywood and maple. It explores dry clamping and vacuum bag pressing as two bending techniques.

The bent elements of the chair are constructed in birch plywood and the legs in maple. It uses two hand cut lap joints (for the armrests) and two notched lap joints (where the legs meet the seat) in its construction. Finished with Tung oil to preserve the natural colors of the wood.

SKILLS

Wood working, model making, sketching, vectorworks