Everyone needs a place to sit down once in a while, but not every place has a dedicated seat or chair. Some might have simple raised structures that force you to precariously perch your behind on a surface, while others just have a flat floor to work with. You can always bring your own stool or sit anywhere on the floor, but that often poses problems for your back. This design concept tries to make a bold statement on portability and lumbar support but leaves the door open for questions about its ergonomics and comfort.
Designer: Wonjun Jo
Legless chairs are becoming more popular these days, especially with the rising prices of living spaces and furniture. It allows you to have a seat without having to commit to a more or less fixed setup, especially when there’s a desk involved. For some people who actually prefer sitting near floor level, it’s actually more comfortable, depending on the design of the chair.
As with regular chairs, the design of legless chairs comes in all shapes and sizes. Most of them, however, try to offer an almost literal slice of a couch or sofa in terms of cushioning and upholstery. bold, however, goes in a completely different direction with a bigger focus on being space-efficient when not in use and providing support for your lower back.
bold doesn’t actually fold and more like separates into two parts. These parts can then be rejoined in a flat form that makes it look like it folded down instead. The entire weight of the chair is 0.785kg, and it’s only 5mm at its thickest part, making it extremely portable. You can, in theory, take it anywhere with you and set it up on any ledge, allowing you to sit without worrying about straining your back.
The backrest flexes a bit, though, but that design is intentional in order to provide proper support in the lumbar regions. The designer says it can still withstand 200kgf of force, so safety wouldn’t be an issue, at least in theory. The biggest question, however, is where it would be comfortable to sit on or even stable.
The curved shape of the seat itself means that it will be rocking back and forth on a flat surface. The hard material of the entire chair, which is presumably plastic, doesn’t exactly exude an air of comfort. The designer might have perhaps spent too much time trying to defend the idea of a sturdy, foldable chair while potentially forgetting how a legless chair also needs to be comfortable, or perhaps even more comfortable than a typical seat with legs.
