Suture Chair

Date: 2005
Description: An extension of the Honeycomb Morphologies/Manifold research project, the Suture Chair project uses a double-layer honeycomb system to provide both strength and flexibility to the chair. The shape of the chair itself is developed through multiple sources. The chair is designed to enable rocking and also multiple seating configurations. The outside boundary of the chair is in the shape of a suture curve, the same curve used to stitch tennis balls and baseballs together. This ring provides a boundary on which a mathematically defined minimal surface known as a Enneper surface spans. Through an iterative process whereby different variables were used within the equation, a design was established which had a desired maximum thickness at the edges and a minimum thickness at the center. Thus, where the honeycomb is the least dense, its cell depth is greatest. Likewise, the center of the chair has the highest density of honeycomb members and thus requires the least amount of structural depth in the cell.

http://matsysdesign.com/category/projects/suture-chair/