Furniture Design. 2024.
Collaboration with Aileen De La Ree Valencia
Designed and built as a collaboration, between Nush Farzaan Wadia and Aileen De La Ree Valencia, the ButtonBack Chair was an exploration in materiality, form and ergonomics.
Crafted from eight quarter Cherry, with an asymmetric form, undulating surfaces, a sole armrest and solid-wood seat and back, the goal of the design was to defy ideas and standards of aesthetics and comfort.
The structure relies on two stretchers, which, together with the front panel, side leg, and back leg, make up the chair’s frame. The primary stretcher runs between the front panel and back leg, and the secondary ties the armrest to the primary stretcher.
The back and armrest are connected to the frame with dowels, while the seat is dry-fastened to the stretchers and front panel.
We mocked-up the initial profiles and proportions to test for form and ergonomics. While the overall composition of elements suited our aesthetic goals, we realized that the seat and back would need to be dished to suit the contours of the body better.
The volume of the lumber gave us the flexibility and freedom to carve it into the organic, “imperfect” form it took on, embracing the knots in the wood, the undulations of the surface, and accentuating the grain.
The back was carved out using the CNC in order to ensure that the profile of the back rest was perfectly shaped to receive one’s back.
The individual elements were then glued together.
The chair gets its name from the four Maple ornaments that were added to the back to break the monotony of the Cherry wood. This along with the armrest are the only two elements that were made in Maple to contrast the warmth and visual weight of the Cherry, making lighter accents.
The surfaces were meticulously carved and each undulation was made while keeping in mind its role within the whole composition.
The result was a chair that looked stunning in its “imperfections”, comfortable on the eyes and even more so to sit it.
