Cardboard Chair
The challenge of this project was to design and build a full-scale chair using only cardboard. Additionally, the chair had to be fully functional and able to withstand an individual’s weight for an hour.
The process began with anthropometric research and measurements, as this chair was purpose built to hold me, I decided to use my own anthropometric measurements. For the ideation phase, I searched the internet for previously constructed chairs for inspiration and began sketching from there. I added the challenge of creating a side profile of the chair that consists of two identical, intersecting triangles. In cad, the design was constrained by the anthropometric measurements of seat depth, seat height/angle and backrest height/angle, the rest was self constrained by setting the triangle sides as equal. Since the chair was created in CAD, I was able to save time in building the 1/4 scale model by utilizing the laser printer. The scale model was built for a load analysis, the initial load analysis revealed that the original design was capable of holding 160lbs, this opened the opportunity to make a revision to strengthen the base to hold additional weight. For the full-size model, I had to print the profiles of each piece and adhere them to the sheets of cardboard, because of this, I was able to reduce waste by optimizing the layout of each piece. During the build process, I stayed cognizant of the direction of the corrugation of the cardboard, keeping it vertical to prevent buckling of the base. The result was capable of holding my weight for the full hour and solid representation of my concept.