Interview about THA Chair, winner of the A' Furniture Design Award 2024
Tha is a four legged armchair that can be stacked from the front as well as the back. This is a revolutionary idea in chair history, already patented and very convenient. It can easily and smoothly be stacked with a slight lift from the back, even if the table is in front. Nothing has been sacrificed in design or seating comfort for this feature. It is designed with simple lines that do not require excessive handwork.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsOne day I was sitting in an aligned chair. In front of me I could see the back of the chair in front of me. The idea occurred to me that it would be more efficient to stack the many chairs in this row from the back in order to clear them out.
The structure, which can be stacked from behind, is patented. This means that the patent office has recognized that this structure has never existed before. However, there was a problem of strength, especially in the case of wooden chairs. Therefore, to prevent the load from being concentrated in one point, several parts were thinly shaved so that the load would be dispersed by the elasticity of the wood.
I have mastered traditional Japanese woodworking techniques and make my own prototypes to realize my ideas.In doing so, I put together a design while also envisioning the production process and efficiency of the product. The result is an innovative chair with a simple structure.
I have researched a great deal of literature in order to obtain a patent. I then applied for a patent so that I would not be unable to use the idea myself. In other words, I obtained a patent to protect myself.
Many chairs that can be nested like shopping carts have been designed in the past, but these chairs have movable parts that allow the seat to flip up and down. These have moving parts that can be raised and lowered, which complicates the structure and increases cost.The important part of the structure is very simple, so I tried to create a design that would not compromise that.
In recent years I have designed a number of chairs inspired by letterforms. When I design a chair, I design from the silhouette and the shadows that the chair casts in the light. I am working on a variety of ideas, including chairs that cast beautiful shadows even when no one is sitting in them, and chairs that become complete when a person sits in them.
Chairs with many complex curves cause many problems in the production process; we have designed a good combination of three-dimensional and two-dimensional structures to achieve cost reductions. And its simple structure leads to ease of repair, aiming for longer use through repair.
When I came up with this structure in 2019, it was a two-legged chair. And the chair, named [8], won the Reddot design award in Germany in 2021.The design of that chair was very simple but very challenging for a chair. The THA Chair was designed as a more common chair with four legs.
I specialize in wooden furniture design, but am currently in the process of designing metal chairs and desks for the office. These can be mixed and stacked despite their different designs.I hope that these furniture pieces will be used in various places in the future.
The fact that the THA chair won the Bronze A Design Award proves that my ideas are not only applicable in Japan.I am very proud of the fact that the chair has become a catalyst for the spread of various designs around the world, and I see a lot of potential for the future.
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