Lattice Chair
The Lattice Chair is a representation of my passion for mid-century modern design. This chair is made with walnut and built by hand to create a functional piece that sits well, as well as an exercise enabling me to play with repetitive light and shadow in a “ Bauhaus-esque” way.
design goals
This chair was a University of Cincinnati design project that was completed in 5 weeks.
Mid-Century Modern
I wanted the roots of this project to embody a gorgeous mid-century feel
Simple to construct
This chair needed to be able to be successfully completed in 5 weeks, from drawing to completed prototype
Strong & Sturdy
This chair needed to be usable and comfortable
pinterest inspiration
initial ideation
These thumbnails were done with my design goals in mind, looking at the angle of the chair, the height, how it's built, the profile of the chair, the iconic mid-century arms, and the stance of the chair
refined ideation
After working with my drawings and playing around with some balsa models, I had an idea to create this chair with individual 1x1 posts, that ended up creating a cradle in the seat and a beautify arch behind and under the chair. This allowed for strength (all of the individual triangles being made) and a very simple and interesting aesthetic.
CAD (Fusion360) planning
The process of building the chair started with a CAD model to get lengths and proportions correct, then when I went into the shop to build, the math behind the angles of the feet of the chair was much easier to understand and make work.
prototype 1 build
prototype 1
final project build
final project build
Lattice Chair is still holding strong after continuous daily use, but there are some things I would edit for the next one...
In the next versions of this chair, I would love to play around with the ability to flatpack, a high back version, and the potential to use sustainable bamboo to really highlight the ease of building this product.