fragment by geckeler michels: a monobloc aluminum sand-casted chair

fragment by geckeler michels: a monobloc aluminum sand-casted side chair
all images © haw-lin

german design studio geckeler michels have broken every rule in the sand-casting book to create a one-piece aluminum side chair. entitled ‘fragment’, the monobloc furniture piece has been developed with a complex mold and a series of computer simulations. with the help of experienced mould makers, the concept is formed with two primary components: a seat shell, the structural core of the seating object, and the funnel, inlets and feeder – which rather than being cut off, have been re-purposed to serve as the three legs.

‘in the metal sector, a set of guidelines has grown up over the millennia. optimum results depend on respecting these rules and their interdependence. as it is important to avoid cast turbulence and form breakages, delayed shrinkage, tension formation and blow holes, the geometry of the actual part being cast has to be perfectly aligned with the arrangement and profiles of the fluctuation of molten metal,’ explained the designers.

the design is the result of attempting to assign the aluminum pouring process as a functional component of its architecture.‘the specifications for shaping the object emerge from the interplay between the constructors’ expertise, long since supported by computerized simulations of casting processes, and the rules of thumb,’ they add. ‘here the funnel, inlets and feeder, normally cut off and re-melted after the solidified metal have been de-moulded, have been re-purposed to form the legs of a chair – the reference being the monobloc chair moulded out of one piece.’