The 'Isamu' Flat-pack Chair

Inspired by the quiet economy of Isamu Noguchi's works, the Isamu chair is assembled without mechanical fasteners or glues. When made from a single material such as plywood, two complete chairs can be cut from a single standard sheet.

Two other influences were Wilma van Boxtel and Galen Cranz.

Wilma of Deseos Design who suggested I imply curves rather than necessarily bending material, as I had done with the Lypt bookcase.

Galen's 1998 book 'The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design' is essential reading for anyone interested in chair ergonomics, an open-minded appraisal of design classics or why we even have chairs in the first place.

With Galen's book in mind, I spent a few days with different chairs until I found one that was close to the right dimensions then tried different seat depths and heights as well as backrest sizes, positions and angles.

Next came the visual design that incorporated the assembly method. After this, I was so close to getting two chairs out of one 1200 by 2400 sheet that I'd dreamt about it until I found a way to do it that didn't compromise the design or structural integrity.

The images on this page are Rhino models of a version from about 70% through the development.