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The fourteen furniture design masters students have designed and built armchairs for the Stockholm Furniture Fair from a rarely seen material: aircraft plywood

"It is an extremely durable yet also mouldable material, which was first made use of in aircraft construction during World War II", explains university lecturer Martin Relander.

"The 1.5mm plywood used for the chairs was manufactured in Finland from Finnish birch trees. For making light armchair prototypes there is probably no better material in existence."

Blue and black 

In addition to the ultramarine blue aircraft plywood, the students also used black 15mm x 15mm tubular steel. Their work put emphasis on the cornerstones of furniture design: structure, design, purpose of use, and, most important of all, the designer's personal artistic expression.

All the prototypes have been created by first year masters students, but in the workshops they also received assistance from the carpentry and metallurgy workshop supervisors. In the workshops emphasis was placed both on understanding the possibilities and limits of the material used, and also on understanding the visual impression created by the furniture in its surroundings.

The students were supervised by Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture Professor Jouko Järvisalo, Lecturer Martin Relander and assistant Noora Liesimaa.

"The well-functioning workshop and good technical appliances and resources enable the development of and experimentation with material-working skills, but at the same time students get to develop their thinking about design. The end result is design which stands out and is of international interest", says Professor Järvisalo.

The students' Ultramarine exhibition can be viewed in the Greenhouse section of the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair at exhibition stand number VH02:08.

Link to pictures of the chairs

For more information, please contact:

Lecturer Martin Relander
martin.relander@aalto.fi