Short Version

Our assignment was to "design and construct a full size chair of minimum recyclable materials, which reflects and is suitable for Arizona's unique desert environment". Initially, the construction of the "desert chair" seemed difficult so our group met in order to brainstorm, the first step in the design process. The chair is completely composed of recyclable materials. The materials used for the chair frame are pine and oak wood; both types of wood grow naturally in Northern Arizona. Steel chicken wire was also incorporated into the chair because not only is it recyclable, it is also extremely durable. Chicken wire also has quite history in the rural areas of Arizona. Farmers use it to keep rodents away from crops and to keep coyotes from stealing poultry. The chair is obviously functional, as we have displayed in our video. The chair is not only functional, but the great designers of the chair have also managed to make the chair portable! The chair can be quickly and easily assembled anywhere. Although the chair is compiled out of only three materials and weighs only about 10 lbs, it is perfectly durable. An individual can sit and move around in the chair with no apprehension regarding the durability of the chair. It can withstand heat and monsoon because the materials will not melt in intense heat or disintegrate in the waters of the desert monsoon. The chair also adheres to the "less is more" principal in the sense that we did not think it was necessary to use more than three materials when building the chair. The chair is portable we felt it was important to make sure the weight did not exceed 10.5 lbs. Sustainability was a priority when the chair was designed and the three materials are recyclable.

When building the chair we relied primarily on the rules developed during the Modernist design movement. The chair designs of Charles and Ray Eames provided inspiration for the chair when we considered function and durability. Although we wanted to build something similar to the infamous Herman Miller chair the Eames family designed, their chair was compiled of plywood and leather so we had to look at other modernist designs. We also studied the designs of Frank Lloyd Wrights Barrel Chair and Robie Chair. In our final design we tried to embody the designs of Rietveld, the De Stijl movement, and tried to use components visible in the Red and Blue Chair design. Although the influences are not clearly visible in the chair, we did look at chairs from great Modernist designers.

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Howto & Style

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