The Milan Design Week is the most famous design event in the world. This year, the event will take place from 17 to 22 April. For your convenience, Materia has listed some interesting material highlights! Today, part 3, a chair special (part 1, part 2). 

Philipp Aduatz
Designer Philipp Aduatz collaborated with concrete printing start-up Incremental3d to use new technology for complex freeform design. The aim of the project was to show the new possibilities of creating complex shapes and apply it to furniture design.

The result is a 3D printed concrete chaise longue, designed by Aduatz and created using the digital fabrication technology by Incremental3d. For the production, a negative mould was 3D printed from concrete. After that, the complete chair was printed in less than one hour into the cast. To make the chair stronger, carbon fibres were inserted in sensitive areas. The seating was finished using a UV-resistant polyurethane coating.

In addition, Aduatz also presents his Cloud Chair, made using the natural expansion of polyurethane come used in construction for insulation. The chair has no inner support structure as not to obstruct the expansion process. To make the chair string enough, glass fibres were added to the foam.

Finally, the Gradient Tiles Chair will also be launched. This chair was made using only construction materials, left over after the renovation of Aduatz’ studio. The base frame of the chair is made from wood, covered with a brick fabric. This, in turn, is covered on plaster, reinforced with glass fibre fabric. Finally, the chair was finished by the application of 10,000 tiles, applied by hand.

Nagami
The Spanish brand Nagami introduces a series of four 3D printed chairs by various designers. Two of the chairs are designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, in which the firm explored the natural growth processes that occur in marine biology, specifically underwater ecosystems and coral formations. The chairs are 3D printed with polylactic acid, which is a biodegradable, nontoxic plastic made from renewable resources. The chairs were made with a pellet extruder, using raw plastic rather than filament.

Ross Lovegrove designed the third chair, in which he combined botany and robotics. The chair was built using a continuous rotatinional process that causes each layer to fuse together while being stacked on top of each other.

The last chair in the collection was designed by Daniel Widrig. The chair is made from three pieces of seven millimetre thick shells of PLA plastic, and is designed to satisfy both the ergonomic constraints of the human body, as well as the ergonomics of the robotic arm that prints it.

Erez Nevi Pana
In an exhibition called ‘Vegan Design – or the Art of Reduction’ curated by Maria Cristina Didero, Israeli designer Erez Nevi Pana exhibits his designs, for which he uses plant-based substances and minerals, many of which derive from his native country.

Part if the exhibit is the Salt Project, in which wooden stool have been submerged into the Dead Sea. The salty water leaves salt residue on the wood, creating a crystal coating.

Photos: Philipp Aduatz / Nagami (via Dezeen) / Erez Nevi Pana