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Industrial Design Case Study: An Experimental Furniture Design Incorporating Rope

Modern Weave 3.0, by KEM Studio

By Rain Noe - January 13

in Furniture Design

This experimental Modern Weave 3.0 chair is by KEM Studio, an industrial design and architecture firm based in Kansas City, Missouri. The idea was to produce a non-molded outdoor chair with a modicum of cushioning, using rope.

Modern Weave is a continued exploration of reinterpreting a traditional technique (weaving) in a modern way. The original exploration (1.0), done on an Eames Side Chair, was entered in and won the Eames Good Design Challenge and was then auctioned off to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. From there we took this concept of modern weaving and refined it, still using an Eames Side Chair, creating a simplified linear pattern that provided tailored comfort in the seat of the chair (2.0). After this second exploration we asked the question, "how do you design an outdoor chair that doesn't require tooling, incorporates elevated ergonomics and can utilize this 'modern weave' as the method of providing extra cushioning?"

Modern Weave 3.0 addresses those opportunities. Made out of bent rods that are welded together at points of interaction, each individual segment has a place and a purpose ergonomically. The grid system that is created from these interactions presents a natural canvas to add the weave and explore from a sense of material, comfort and aesthetics. Traditional techniques are highlighted with this chair (bending rod, welding + weaving) creating a robust, comfortable and beautiful chair that can have its place indoors just as well as outdoors. This chair breaks the mold of outdoor chairs… legitimately… there is no molding required.

With this chair, comfort is tunable. It doesn't rely on foam for a pad but instead allows for a human-centered and user-specific comfort as well as encouraging their own creativity and artistry. Any material that can be woven can be used which allows the user to swap out the weave at any time, whether for wear, comfort or aesthetic reasons, change the pattern or even remove the weave material altogether.

You can see more of KEM Studio's work here.

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Daniel Jordache

a day ago

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The mock-ups look better than the final product.

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Zach W

a day ago

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Having made a chair similar to this, I can promise you the rope is not comfortable to sit on...

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- Juan Cano
  
  Zach W
  
  a day ago
  
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  With no experience I was thinking this cannot be comfortable. Rope is usually not soft and fluffy.
  
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Scott Carpenter

a day ago

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I see a lot of pinch potential pinch points.

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