David Laird, The Bare chair (FURNITURE 2025)

Photos:

David Laird

Country

New Zealand

The Bare chair has been designed to use the smallest number of inputs to develop a sustainable and functional chair that is accessible to many people. The aim of my design is to provide a chair that is a response to the current environmental challenges. The chair uses no glue and utilises timber threads so the chair can be assembled easily when required or unscrewed for a small footprint for transport and storage. The backrest is hand stitched locally sourced saddlery leather, a byproduct of the meat industry and has been tanned in vegetable oil. Finished in naturally derived oils and waxes containing no VOCS. Biogenic carbon content: 12 kg CO2 To keep the carbon footprint of the chair as small as possible I have selected to work with a limited pallet of natural materials. The timber used I have sourced locally from end-of-life urban trees, utilising this timber will continue to sequester the carbon within. Utilising local sourced timber reduces travel of the material. The timber has been air dried and then finished off in a solar kiln. The two-part seat, fixed to support cleats with a 12-degree bevel to lock the seat to the support cleat. To economically provide a contour to the seat I have cut a taper to the cleat, so the seat slides on at an angle. This form of construction is strong and forms the seat using less timber from smaller dimensions which means the timber can be seasoned with less energy. The leg threads through both the cleat and the seat to lock the chair together with no glue required. This threaded joint can be assembled easily and importantly unscrewed for easy disassembly when required. The chair can easily fit into a 440x300x300mm carboard box for delivery or storage when not required.

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