Barstool 01 – Chabera

Barstool 01

Combine things that are extremely far apart into one fluent creation. That could be the summary of what this project tries to achieve. Ancient bronze casting techniques on one side – digital sculpting and 3D printing on the other. Two extremes of approach and two periods in the history of design.

Products & Objects > Barstool 01

The design process →

Chabera – Barstool 01 – cast bronze bar stool – functional sculpture – Ch

A functional sculpture

This bar stool is a true definition of a functional sculpture – an object that has enough character and presence to be an art piece and that has enough ergonomy and functionality to be a piece of furniture. The resulting bar stool is an extreme hollow construction that weighs a reasonable 12kg – reasonable for bronze that is.

Next to its sculptural presence Barstool 01 is also a perfectly ergonomic bar stool with a very human-centered comfortable geometry and ergonomics.

Naturally the metal is very reponsive to surrounding temperature. It gets colder and warmer depending on the conditions.

Thoughtful organic digital forms recreated in a timeless rough & tough material

Bronze is a material that captures detail very well and that offers a broad variety of surface finishes ranging from dull and dirty looking finishes across oxidized green tints to very simple semi-gloss blacks. It is also a material that ages in the most rewarding ways as all the areas that get used and touched frequently get increasingly more polished and all the neglected areas get more oxidized, raw and rough.

Chabera – Barstool 01 – cast bronze bar stool – raw finish – Ch

The footrest as well as the edge of the seat feature an organic textured pattern inspired by skin goosebumps. It stops the metal being too slippery.

Digitally sculpted raw bronze cast.

The combination of digital sculpting, 3D printing in 1:1 and bronze casting allows the entire object to be shaped and detailed in the same fashion. I usually prefer objects that don’t have a neglected B-side.

Chabera – Barstool 01 – cast bronze bar stool – finishes overview – Ch

The spectrum of finishes on bronze is very broad and the oxidisation of the metal evolves the surface finish over time into unexpected directions of patina and gentle decay.

The bar stools are reasonably well stackable.

This is the simplest finish of bronze with just a light coating of carnauba wax. It oxidises just a little slower, but fingerprints do show up on it over time quite strongly.