Daphne Chair

Apollo, struck by Eros’ golden arrow of desire, chased after Daphne. She fled in terror, desperate to escape him. Just as he was about to seize her, she cried out to her father for help. Peneus transforms her into a laurel tree. Apollo, heartbroken, embraces the tree and declares the laurel sacred.

Daphne chair attempts to use laminated wood and Finite Element Analysis to create a wooden chair which is both structurally optimized, and emblematic of its material.

The process began with mock-up models and studies of Japanese joinery methods.

From there, hand drawing and modeling, physical prototyping, and 3d printed joint studies led us to find a digital solution

FEA and topology optimization were utilized to accurately determine the size and shape of the chair

Draft angle analysis became an important tool for ensuring that the chair elements could be milled

Crafted of laminated plywood, the chair would exhibit a new grain pattern based on its material, structure, and form

RhinoCAM was used to iterate between 3d model, PLA printing, and wood studies

Toolpaths added a new layer of surface treatment to the wood chair, with the tools rounded bit effecting the creation of joints

Designed to be milled for easy transport and assembly, the chair is cut from two plywood stocks, and assembled as five parts

Process Photos

Final renderings depicts the wide array of effects which wood choice, material finish, toolpath, and grain can have on the final lounge chair.

Digital Gothic

Hearst