Visual
2022
BIG ZERO
Self-Forming Chair
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Supervisor: Sheila Kennedy
- The new ‘Rocking Rio’ chair is self-forming; it is flat-packed and takes its
- shape(s) when it has been unpacked at its final destination—which will
- drastically reduce transportation carbon emissions. The outdoor chair
- engages directly with the properties of nature, utilizing rainfall and humidity
- to dampen active layers without consuming increased energy. Additionally,
- the green wood is sourced from a sustainably managed territory, where
- forests are continuously replenished rather than merely engineered
- to be destroyed. Once received by the new owner, the chair is placed outdoors
- while it takes form, leading it to vary in form depending on the amount of
- moisture in the wood and humidity in the air. A chair in Brazil, for example,
- would look different to one opened in Namibia. A new rapport to our furniture
- is created as it becomes one with nature.
fig.1 ‘Big Zero’ chair
fig.2 ‘Rio’ Rocking Chair
fig.3 ‘Rio’ base
fig.4 ‘Rio’ in motion
fig.5 ‘Rio’ components
fig.6 ‘Rio’
components (unfolded)
fig.7 ‘Rio’ manufacturing flow chart
fig.8 ‘Big Zero’ Base options
fig.9 ‘Big Zero’ chair
fig.10 ‘Big Zero’ components
fig.11 ‘Big Zero’ manufacturing flow chart
fig.12 Carbon wheel (materials) ‘then’ vs. ‘Big Zero’
fig.13 Carbon wheel (materials) ‘then’ vs. ‘Big Zero’