Chairs made of cardboard. Unheard of? Maybe. Impossible? No, just ask a group of UL Lafayette students who are finalists in a national design competition this month in Las Vegas.
СAPP Chair AffairСAPP is the 2005 corrugated cardboard chair design competition sponsored by the American Institute of Architecture Students and the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation.
UL Lafayette industrial design students know itСAPPs absolutely possible to construct real, working chairs out of cardboard. In fact, two chairs constructed by these students are two of six finalists in the competition and another is a merit award winner for innovation.
СAPPI think this shows that the university produces excellent students who are excellent designers,СAPPsaid Brian Powell, associate professor in the School of Architecture and Design. СAPPNow, the world knows we have excellent designers.СAPP
A group of students from PowellСAPPs Human Factors course designed an interlocking, puzzle-like chair that will compete in the finals. Industrial design students Matthew Johnson and Jared Williamson and interior design student Lindsay Williamson combined forces to create a cardboard chair that converts to a daybed.
СAPP We wanted to come up with something that would be two different items,СAPP said Johnson. СAPPWe thought about a chair with a seat that would come off and thatСAPPs when we got the puzzle idea.СAPP
A sliding piece can either lie flat with another longer piece to form a daybed or it can be attached to form the sitting piece of the chair.
First-year industrial design student Sara OСAPPBrien had something different in mind when she constructed her entry, which is also a finalist in the competition.
СAPP I was captured by the fluting part of cardboard,СAPP said OСAPPBrien. СAPPI thought it would be fun to have that in a design and I liked the idea of weaving cardboard.СAPP
ThatСAPPs how she came up with her circular lightweight chair which uses interlocking pieces that were influenced by Japanese origami techniques. The chair, which is doughnut-shaped, weighs less than ten pounds.
Scott Shall, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture and Design, served as an advisor to OСAPPBrien. СAPPThis university and these students are gems within this community,СAPP said Shall. СAPPThe students have a passion for design and itСAPPs just one of the things that I marvel at.СAPP
Another industrial design student Josh Pichon received the Merit Award for Innovation for his СAPPbook chairСAPP creation. It has several cardboard pages that can be moved to adjust seating height for a range of body sizes.
СAPP The idea came from when someone opens a book and turns a page and one side gets thicker and one gets thinner,СAPP Pichon explained. СAPPAs a kid, I remember flipping pages of a book just for the fun it. I drew from that.СAPP
The UL Lafayette entries were among the six final projects that were selected in the competition which was opened to all students of architecture and design in North America. On May 25, the top three projects and three honorable mentions will be announced during the 2005 American Institute of Architects National Convention and Design Exposition.
Winning students and their AIAS chapters will receive cash prizes totaling up to $3,675. The winning entries will be published in the Fall 2005 issue of Crit, the journal of the AIAS. First and second place winners will win a free trip to the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters Convention in Boston this fall.