Baltic Plywood Chair
This project involved designing and building a full-size chair CNC cut from a single 4x8ft sheet of plywood, with the central visual concept being the illusion of a suspended seat. The joinery was custom designed to hide all dogbones and create a continuous, flowing form, while copper pipe detailing and nearly 300 feet of woven cord served as both structural anchor points and decorative elements. The primary challenge was ensuring every joint lined up correctly so the chair could actually be assembled, which required careful planning of the assembly sequence to leave as much time as possible for adjustments and added detail. Designing convincing curves from flat CNC cut pieces, cleanly fitting the copper piping into the form, and keeping all dogbones out of sight rounded out the key construction problems solved throughout the project.
3D Printed Prototypes
Chairs were printed at 1/6th scale to test out ergonomics with a 1/6th scale human model.
The models also helped explore different styles and proportions.
CNC Machining
After the final 3D model was made, a CAM file was used to cut out the entire chair out of an standard 4X8 ft AB grade plywood sheet.
Post Processing
Once the parts were CNC cut from the plywood sheet, each piece was labelled for assembly and the edges were deburred to remove any roughness left from the cutting process.
Copper Piping
Copper pipes were embedded throughout the chair for three purposes.
First, to act as alignment pins for the parts to be assembled smoothly.
Second, to allow for anchor points for the rope binding.
Third, the copper adds a subtle contrast in material, colour, and texture.
Wood assembly
After dry fitting all of the parts individually, a majority of the pieces needed to be glues simultaneously to ensure correct spacing and alignment.
Thankfully the preparation in both the design and the steps leading up to this meant the assembly came together seamlessly.
Final Shaping and Finishing
Once the entire wood assembly was together, the remaining rough edges and transitions were smoothed out.
The entire chair was then coated in multiple coats of polyurethane coats to protect the wood while retaining its natural colour.
Final Detailing
Nearly 300 feet of rope was woven through the copper pipe inserts to give the chair a little bit more padding along the back. There is also the visual illusion that the front of the seat is being suspended by the rope.
Finished Chair
Designed to read as a continuous form, the chair features a wide seat with armrests that merge into the legs and eventually backrest.
Copper pipe detailing is placed throughout and is both aesthetically pleasing as well as being a part of the joinery, allowing the rope to weave throughout the chair.