Bending Active Chair

The aim of this project was to investigate the potential of bending active principle for manufacturing an exquisite and novel chair. The goal was to achieve a flexible and at the same time stiff component which, although easy to bend, could withstand certain loads. Plywood, in forms of bending strips and doubly curved surfaces, was used to make anticlastic surfaces which became the base of the structural system. Additionally, they were reinforced with stiffening bending active strips. For the basic simulation of bending active behaviour, initial FEA were done using Grasshopper. However, due to complexity and unpredictability of bending active behaviour, the further research process relied on trial and error, namely rapid prototyping of 1:1 models to achieve the desirable shape and structural efficiency.

Students: Şule Karabiyikoğlu, Nima Zahiri
Tutor: Jan Petrš, Piotr Baszyński
Suprevisor: Jun.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Arch. Hanaa Dahy
Design Studio: Material and Structure, WS 18/19, University of Stuttgart.