'Trine' - Commissioned by clients in Belgium for their kitchen in an Art Nouveau house (we had already made the table) - see image to the right.

The brief for the six chairs called for a design that would complement the house, be comfortable and informal. The idea of a three-legged chair seemed appropriate, but we needed to prove to ourselves that this could be stable, strong and and comfortable.

We wanted the seat to be structural, so there were issues about the method of joining the seat to the legs. The stresses on a chair are greater than any other piece of furniture. There was also the THOUGHT that it would be exciting to arrive at a design that was light, and comprised only of five BASIC elements - three legs, a seat and a back.

To achieve the necessary strength in the seat and back, they would be made like a plywood with alternate layers at right-angles. The curved legs would be cut from solid wood selected so the the grain follows the curve.

With the design ideas now becoming more definite it was time to make a mock-up to test the comfort and structural concept. Contrary to expectation, the curvature of the back leg gave EXCELLENT lumbar support.

The back and seat curvature, crucial to good posture, were modified so that each could be sculpted through the layers, reducing weight and expressing their layered structure. We now needed to seek the clients' approval of the design and the proposal to make the chairs in yew and 5000 year-old bog oak. All was duly agreed.

The seats and backs were made of 2mm thick layers of yew-wood, alternating with 1mm thick bog oak, eleven layers for the seats, THIRTY one layers in the backs. Each of these layers was made up of several widths joined edge to edge to make up panels the size of the seat and back.

These were then glued and pressed over a curved mould, using a vacuum pump to extract the air from the air-tight bag AROUND the mould and the laminations'.

To give additional thickness to the seat platform, a small turned disc of yew was recessed into the underside to provide additional anchorage for the nine stainless steel pins and epoxy that formed the joint for each of the front legs. Again using the strength of the seat, a small bracket of yew was added to the underside at the junction with the back leg; epoxy resin and a number of stainless steel pins gave the strength needed at this critical point. The joint at the top of back leg to the back itself was similar.

It was then time to sand all the surfaces ready for polishing. The design stage took nearly a month, and the six chairs took four months to make. (James Ralph) The technology here is a direct result of the Collaborative European Research Programme initiated for the project at Hooke Park.

'Trine' - Commissioned by clients in Belgium for their kitchen in an Art Nouveau house (we had already made the table) - see image to the right.

The brief for the six chairs called for a design that would complement the house, be comfortable and informal. The idea of a three-legged chair seemed appropriate, but we needed to prove to ourselves that this could be stable, strong and and comfortable.

We wanted the seat to be structural, so there were issues about the method of joining the seat to the legs. The stresses on a chair are greater than any other piece of furniture. There was also the thought that it would be exciting to arrive at a design that was light, and comprised only of five basic elements - three legs, a seat and a back.

To achieve the necessary strength in the seat and back, they would be made like a plywood with alternate layers at right-angles. The curved legs would be cut from solid wood selected so the the grain follows the curve.

With the design ideas now becoming more definite it was time to make a mock-up to test the comfort and structural concept. Contrary to expectation, the curvature of the back leg gave excellent lumbar support.

The back and seat curvature, crucial to good posture, were modified so that each could be sculpted through the layers, reducing weight and expressing their layered structure. We now needed to seek the clients' approval of the design and the proposal to make the chairs in yew and 5000 year-old bog oak. All was duly agreed.

The seats and backs were made of 2mm thick layers of yew-wood, alternating with 1mm thick bog oak, eleven layers for the seats, thirty one layers in the backs. Each of these layers was made up of several widths joined edge to edge to make up panels the size of the seat and back.

These were then glued and pressed over a curved mould, using a vacuum pump to extract the air from the air-tight bag around the mould and the laminations'.

To give additional thickness to the seat platform, a small turned disc of yew was recessed into the underside to provide additional anchorage for the nine stainless steel pins and epoxy that formed the joint for each of the front legs. Again using the strength of the seat, a small bracket of yew was added to the underside at the junction with the back leg; epoxy resin and a number of stainless steel pins gave the strength needed at this critical point. The joint at the top of back leg to the back itself was similar.

It was then time to sand all the surfaces ready for polishing. The design stage took nearly a month, and the six chairs took four months to make. (James Ralph) The technology here is a direct result of the Collaborative European Research Programme initiated for the project at Hooke Park.