ammar kalo exposes the stratum of swiveling plywood chair

the 'stratum chair' expresses its materiality in a very organic fashion, taking advantage of advanced CNC milling and fabrication technologies.

Ammar Kalo edited by lynne myers February 4, 2015 2 min

ammar kalo exposes the stratum of swiveling plywood chair
photo © ammar kalo
all images courtesy of ammar kalo

the ‘stratum chair’ was born out of ammar kalo‘s desire to create a piece of furniture that expresses its function and the material it uses in a very organic fashion. this was all done while taking advantage of advanced CNC milling and fabrication technologies. its unique formal and visual qualities are derived from the ways in which the plywood strata layers are carved to highlight the product’s utilitarian features. its termination at the ground with three legs also accentuates the design’s edginess and gives it a sense of delicate balance.

ammar kalo stratum chair swiveling plywood designboom
photo © ammar kalo

ammar kalo stratum chair swiveling plywood designboom
demonstration of the swiveling movement and revealing the shaped underside
photo © ammar kalo

‘for this project, there were a number of sources that helped inspire its formal qualities’, explains kalo, ‘from the sinuous shapes of a human body, to the works of hector guimard, to rock formations carved by natural forces.’ the joint came from studying religious book stands that are carved from a single piece of wood and consist of two interlocking parts. the swiveling action of the furnishing also helps reduce its original volume by half, making it easier for shipping.

ammar kalo stratum chair swiveling plywood designboom
symmetry is a key design feature
photo © ammar kalo

the main components are composed of laminated sheets of baltic birch plywood. most of the chair’s features, such as its sharp edges, the flowing form of its back and seat, as well as the central connection, were planned to leverage the extra axis of freedom that a 5-axis CNC milling machine offers. multiple iterations of these concepts were produced to properly calibrate the fabrication process while maintaining a strong design language. ‘the most difficult part of the work was figuring out the interlocking connection detail,’ says kalo. ‘this involved multiple studies in terms of design, but also from fabrication point of view.’

ammar kalo stratum chair swiveling plywood designboom
the back side expresses the chair’s fluid form more freely, celebrating the swiveling joint
photo © ammar kalo

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