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Ernie Eun Sang Lee's Perm Chair Process

By David Seliger - August 19, 2011

in Furniture Design

As an example of the current trend for design schools to work with technology innovators, this past year RISD worked with recyclable glass/thermoplastic composite Twintex manufacturer Owens Corning. The resulting exhibition, Recyclable Composites, was on display during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York.

Ernie Eun Sang Lee, one of the twelve students in the RISD class, produced the Perm Chair as his creation. The chair "started from the simple, honest response to the material," in this case the hairdo of King Louis XV of France. What started off as a pile of "hair" was hardened into a rigid structure through heating. Lee was kind enough to share a behind-the-scenes look at the process of the Perm Chair. And—as you can see in the video—yes, he actually knit this entire chair.