liquid-filled knitmold chairs combine craft and efficiency

liquid-filled knitmold chairs combine craft and efficiency
all images courtesy of liao, an-kai & dai, cheng-zhe

to think about design in its simplest, vaguest state, there’s essentially only two categories: the industrial, and the hand-made. of course, hundreds of niches exist in the spectrum between the two extremes, but by polarizing ideas, many interesting thoughts are born. with a similar mind set, designers liao, an-kai and dai, cheng-zhe created ‘knitmold’. 

‘knit’ – line-shaped molds compose chair legs with a top like knitted wool 

industrial production and molding is a cold, emotionless procedure, oppositely hand-made goods are typically full of warmth and passion. ‘knitmold’s’ concept was derived from an amalgamation of the two, an attempt to add passion into traditional manufacturing by incorporating elements of handicraft. three chairs were created with unique structures that include knitting, rope, and bridge-like techniques that are typically hard to achieve by normal mold fabrication. 

the idea goes further than the final shapes by also addressing issues of materiality in industrial-making, namely by creating the forms out of epoxy-filled sleeves. however, a good without mass-production capabilities will always be intrinsically tied to a level of craft. so, to simply the means of creating the complex knitted products, a series of machines and jigs to increase bath size and speed, were made. ‘knitmold’ may not be ready to hit shelves next week, but its particular combination of passion and efficiency is certainly an idea to take note of. 

detail of  ‘knit’

‘knit’ jig 

‘plumknot’ — based on the shape of the same name, which is bountiful in chinese traditional imagery

detail of  ‘plumknot’

‘plumknot’ jig 

‘bridge’ – mimics suspension bridge structure

detail of  ‘bridge’ 

‘bridge’ production machine  

all production devices

concept

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