Prompt

This activity will challenge you to reconstruct a classic chair designed by artist and furniture designer, Enzo Mari. You will begin by assembling the chair virtually (in Rhino) and then physically, using dimension lumber. The chair is part of Mari's "Autoprogettazione" project, as series of open-source furniture pieces, designed to be accessible and affordable to all and easy to assemble. 

Instructions

1) (Individual) Working independently, you will start by reconstructing the chair virtually, using the attached Rhino file. Recreate the chair as accurately as possible, relying on the Object Snaps and Gumball tools in Rhino as well as the orthographic drawings attached in this post. Have your Rhino design inspected by one of the coaches before moving on to the next step. 

2) (In groups of 3-4) Now that you understand the chair design and the various components, you can begin to build the chair IRL! Start by cutting your lumber to length. Using the cut list in the images above, set up a jig to expedite cutting. 

3) Once your boards are cut to length, you can begin to assemble your chair. Consider building "sub-assemblies" or smaller chunks of the chair first, instead of piecing it together all at once. Make use of your speed square, tape measure, bevel gauge, and other tools to insure your chair is square and true. 

4) Consider customizing certain aspects of your chair from the base design to reflect your personality and style. You could attach arms, adjust the angles of the chair, add color, the possibilities are endless!

Deliverables: 

1) Screen shots of your chair assembled in Rhino

2) Process photos of your chair under construction

3) Final photos of your finished chair with and without someone sitting in it (taken in photo booth). 

Estimated Time: ~6 hours