The new bird nest chair from studio floris wubben.
eyrie chair, a bird nest-inspired chair
Looking through the work of Dutch design group Studio Floris Wubben, the first thing you notice is a lot of wood. I know the whole natural, recycled wood thing is hot right now, but this way beyond just slapping some reclaimed barn wood onto the sides of a credenza and calling it a day. Two of the studio’s projects look more like tree trunks that exploded than actual, usable, sit-able chairs. That’s because they’re made from inverted willow trees. Yeah, I’d never heard of that either. They basically take a thickly knotted, gnarly section of a tree, bust it open and smooth out the inside so you can (sorta) sit on it. To make the legs (which look like they’ve sprouted out from the chair and are about to walk away), the tree’s branches are split and twisted into position and then allowed to dry into shape. If it sounds more art than furniture design, that’s completely intentional. “By using uncommon materials and applications (like the use of decorative materials for constructive purposes) we focus on diminishing prejudices and giving these materials a new face.”
Their latest project is the Eyrie, a bird nest-inspired chair made from tree branches. Definitely more form than function, the Eyrie looks downright painful to sit in. While the overlapping, intertwining strips of wood do give it the woven look of a nest, the haphazard slats and the large ‘nails’ remind me more of the hastily slapped together club house a la Spanky and the gang. See more of Studio Floris Wubben design projects, or buy one the busted open willow tree chairs at Anthropologie in NY.
“upside down” was done in collaboration with artist bauke fokkema.
more wood? > [ diy panton chair ]
