Dark van Draebik

What do you think of this chair? It looks a little bit uncomfortable, but I i think it is a beautiful piece of design.
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I’d agree. It is an elegant design.

That said. It also looks like a tip chair. I wonder how much scrap is created in its production. I’d like to know how easy would it be to un-nest a stack of them. Will the finish get mared if they are stacked. And as you pointed out, I won’t know if it is comfortable until I actually sit in it.

It appears to nest and to nest when it is stamped from the sheets of material, or in other words it would have minimal scrap. Could be tippy, also it would be nice if it had a “waterfall” on the leading edge of the seat. If it is a short enough run a “waterfall” may be avoided but you will sacrifice comfort.

If you flatten it out though, it looks like those legs would extend out at 45% angles. Sure it would nest, but it seems like there would be a lot of wasted material. It is super cool, and I like the idea of the back leg being cut and folded from the chair back… but as someone who tips back a lot, I imagine falling over… would be interesting if he folded the back of the chair downward forming a broad double leg, and bent the current leg upward forming a narrow back. Could “T” the back to get a more comfotable support even… I might have to draw this up.

For funsies, I laid it out using standard chair dims. I ran the calculation and it is about 2/3 scrap on a standard 4’ x 8’ sheet.

But all of that can be overcome. The scrap can be recycled and if you use aluminum, you will get some money for it. The finish can be made very durable. They probably wouldn’t get stacked that often, I don’t see the design as mass seating. I do think Internet sales would be low because of not trusting the comfort.




And for as tip chair, everyone designs a tip chair. Here is mine from 25 years ago. I bet if I check my archive, I could rustle up a slide of the drawing.

Stupid question time: what is a tip chair?

A chair prone to tipping.



I’m missing something. I’ve never heard of a tip chair, and an internet search only came up with rehab/ medical shower chairs:

Is a tip chair a design exercise? i.e.
‘Assignment 1: design a chair that tips
Assignment 2: design a chair from a sheet of 1800mm x 2400mm x 5mm cardboard’

An uncomfortable lounge chair with a tip jar on the side, to help the company buy newer, more comfy ones.

Yo!: You aren’t the only one. Americans tend to lean back more than Europeans (or Canadians in my experience). Thonet actually changed their chairs for the American market. Their early ones broke when one leaned back onto the rear legs.

I dunno. Maybe its a 'merkin thing. If you look at your office chair, you will see 5 legs. If you look at office chairs prior to about 1975, you will see 4 legs. I do know if you design a chair that easily tips, the manufacturer can be held liable. That’s why there are recommendations for designing a chair that doesn’t tip. The 5 legs on a swivel chair, the 2-3 inch offset of where the rear legs hit the ground to the back edge of the seat and the height of the back to name just a few. Someone in furnature design could fill us in some more.

Close. I think students believe a 3-legged chair is a good idea. At least I did. But that was sort of my intent. My chair was designed to discourage people sitting in it. Ahh, the logic of a student, it is a wondous thing.