Furniture items don’t always have to be made of wood. They don’t also have to be made of marble to be considered elegant. There are plenty of other materials that can be used that will give almost the same comfort, style, and impact.
Another material is polyurethane foam, as per an experiment that resulted in the PLEASE HOLD UP chair. The experiment was started as a way to check the possible structural capabilities of UP 40 polyurethane foam. Using a single material, the Please Hold Up was created. It’s only one of the many prototypes that are deemed to be successful.
Designer: Stefano Bassan and Gianluca Sigismondi (Finemateria)
The Please Hold Up presented the correct proportions between a good structure and a chair. It is made of polyurethane foam UP 40, a relatively new material. The new high lift polyurethane foam is said to have been made using a variable pressure process.
As described, the char is made by operating two horizontal blade cuts. It comes in a boxy square shape and is very light. At first glance, it looks like it’s made of concrete, but it’s not.
The chair was designed by Stefano Bassan and Gianluca Sigismondi Finemateria. The design studio has always been into coming up with ideas and evoking emotions and memories in relation to the materials. The studio wants to tell stories by helping visualize processes, materials, and cultures. The Please Hold Up Chair by the designers is a result of a material-experimental process done right.
Please Hold Up is a significant project, but it’s not the only one that uses polyurethane foam. There have been previous projects that use the same material. Those AusAir’s botanical facemask’s outer covers were made from flexible polyurethane foam. Cold polyurethane foam injection was used for the Kokkode egg-shaped chair. The Squiggly Seating boasted stress-resistant polyurethane foam on a metal frame.
Please Hold Up is a very light chair that appears to be fun and friendly. This furniture piece brings together aesthetics, form, and design. The uniqueness of the material allows the chair to show off soft geometries, a sculptural look, and durability. The chair is lightweight, but it can serve its purpose without compromising the quality—thanks to the polyurethane foam UP 40.
We see the Please Hold Up Chair in different styles and heights. There are chairs with a high backrest, while some have a low backrest. Others have nothing, so they appear to be more like stools.
