Sitting on a Form That Cannot Be Sat On
By splitting the symbolic form of a sphere—something that cannot be sat on—into two parts, this chair acquires the function of seating. When the two parts are closed again, it returns to the symbolic form of a sphere.
This transformation through opening and closing is not simply a switch of function, but a structure that makes one aware of the act of sitting itself. Because the chair rests on a curved surface, it continues to sway for a while even after someone stands up. That movement suggests the time and presence of the person who had been there, evoking both what happened before and after sitting, and the future in which it may be opened and used again. The project explores how a chair can move back and forth between function and symbol, and in doing so give rise to a temporal experience.
From concept to design and fabrication, the work was developed as a continuous process. To examine the relationship between form and experience, the project moved beyond drawings into making full prototypes, adjusting the form while testing structure, weight, movement, and bodily contact.
Here, function is understood not only as usefulness or the fulfillment of use, but as something that acts on bodily sensation and emotion, giving rise to the experience itself.
Type
Personal Project / Research
Material
FRP
Photography
Takeru Ikeda
Year
2023
