Roche Bobois Design Award

Cairn Chair

Winning Entry

Project Brief:

Respecting the culture and beliefs of Roche Bobois, investigate the values of a dining chair, in its cultural, social, economic, ecological, political, or technological aspects. Rather than taking a stylistic approach, challenge the future directions of the brand by examining issues around eating and dining. Investigate and create ways in which artifacts enable us to have rich and meaningful experiences.

Throughout history, humans have sought physical rest alongside physical nourishment. Sitting and pausing the use of the
body are inherent to the physical and psychological health that comes with dining. While the concept of a “dining chair”
evokes a specific typological image (four legs, back rest, etc), one can find infinite variations of seating for dining through
human behavior in many different cultures. While the Eurocentric user may imagine a Queen Anne dining chair, a more
Eastern understanding may be of sitting on the floor, with knees and feet under a low table that has a heated base. Others
may imagine a circle of stones around a campfire, or even overturned packing crates in a newly occupied home.

Design and prototype functional, full-scale seating devices that achieve the following 3 goals:

1. The seating devices will support and enhance the experience of dining, with emphasis on the rituals of gathering
   and socializing while dining. Design teams will research varied and diverse historical – cultural contexts to propose
   on future typologies of seating for dining.
2. Factor production, product supply chains, and distribution into design development. Is this low or high volume production? Is it manufactured locally, regionally, globally?
3. Research the Roche Bobois brand identity, and incorporate this knowledge into the development of their designs. The most successful devices will simultaneously respect and acknowledge the current offerings of Roche Bobois dining chairs but will also identify new opportunities of market and use.

Collaboration:

George Plionis

Wenny (Weiran) Chen