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Things That Look Like Other Things: Archgeometer's "Ljus" Chair

By Ray Hu - August 17, 2011

in Furniture Design

While I can't seem to discern much about mysterious studio Archgoemeter except that they're based in Chicago, principal / founder / otherwise-related-party Zackery Belanger is willing to share details about their latest project "Ljus," a concept chair.Ljus was designed by applying swarm intelligence to a three-dimensional point cloud of Leah Jung. By giving each point in the cloud autonomy and assessing mathematical relationships to surrounding points, swarm behavior was harnessed, and through a linearly-constrained transformation, a chair based on the human form was defined.

Yet the anthropomorphic aspect is restrained, almost abstracted: there's a vaguely bridge-like quality to the frontal view, despite the subtle yet sensuous curve of the seat itself, which is most clearly visible in its silhouette.

Meanwhile, the taut black latex straps that form the seat itself underscore the sexual connotations of "Ljus," as does the chair's semblance to a platform heel (not least for its espadrille-like construction). The result is a visually compelling article of furniture that belies its conceptual basis even as "Ljus" raises questions about the design choices from materials to final form.

This experimental process is not arbitrary: the spatial relationships between points represent the complex and beautiful geometry of the individual, and under careful transformation some of these relationships are maintained. The shape of the seat and back, and the curved surfaces of the sides are a direct response to the properties of the human body.

Though the technique has tremendous potential for mass customization, the Ljus project sought one form for use by anyone. It was fabricated and finished by hand, with each of its 1804 blocks individually laid, like bricks, using a ruler and a reference plane.

Still, I'm not convinced that the materials and construction technique would be appropriate for a less voluptuous model, such that "mass customization" might require more work than a 3D scan. (On the other hand, the current incarnation of "Ljus" is certainly a big improvement from this.)

Belanger elaborates (via model Leah Jung's blog):The straight line is a beautiful curve, the sharp edge is rounded when considered from the right scale, and ornament is a continuous part of the surface upon which it is applied. If we embrace mathematics and choose processes and materials to suit the challenges we face, then great designs will emerge from the infinite.

As for the meaning of its name: "Ljus: Swedish; of light or color; bright"

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Eric

12 years ago

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So it's a chair designed to only fit one specific person? Useful.
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Mike

12 years ago

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I want to see the chair generated from the foot-to-ear pose at the top.
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Tushan

12 years ago

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What if I want to sit sideways in this chair? Do the sharp corner in the front of the seat bite into your thigh?

Yeah-yeah, this is a conceptual thing. Or chair. But the curator discourse-laden art-talk about embracing the shape of the human body just flew out of the window.
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Goat

12 years ago

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I don't understand why such a substantial amount of 3D data was necessary to produce a single 2D curve. You could have saved some time, took a side view photo and traced that outline to produce the same thing.

The shoe doesn't come across, nor is it an elegant translation of the form in my opinion. I see a mass of black electrical tape holding some curved wood together. Keep trying, maybe make better use of your 3D scan to create something that actually utilizes all of that data.

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Allan

12 years ago

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As technology advances, so does our quest for the ultimate flexible seating machine. Flashback to Eames efforts with molded plywood, the BeanBag chair and Measure of Man ergonomic charts. Personally made attempts along these lines with a mechanically adjustable device and sitting nude in a pile of snow - a more fleeting, not to mention chilling concept. Creativity must cross to the rational side of the brain to be actualized, and of course doesn't always 'look right' in the early translations.
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Andrew C

13 years ago

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It seems counter-intuitive to go through the effort of 3D scanning the model and bothering with the generative design, only to meet the qualities of these methods with the seemingly brute-force tactic of belt sanding a bunch of hand glued blocks and strapping them together with some black latex. It seems that the various processes lack a dialog worth listening to.
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bird nerd

13 years ago

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Listen, I'm a shoe nut and I really didn't see the wedge shoe silhouette right away, nor the chair for that matter. I think this looks pretty unfinished from any view but the side. Not feeling it.
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Hazael

13 years ago

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it took me time to see the chair....
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Ludophile

13 years ago

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Where is this "voluptuous model" you speak of? I see only a skinny little thing with fairly average curves.
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