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Good Thinking

The Nomadic Chair is built for portability over comfort

By Dave Parrack
November 14, 2013
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The Nomadic Chair from Jorge Penadés is built for portability rather than comfort
The Nomadic Chair can be worn like a backpack for the ultimate in portability
The Nomadic Chair could inspire a full range of furniture
The steel clips are inspired by traditional wooden joinery methods
The back support can be left out for those who prefer to use a stool
The steel clips come in a range of colors to suit individual tastes
The Nomadic Chair can be assembled and disassembled in under two minutes
The steel clips are inspired by traditional wooden joinery methods
When fully assembled, the Nomadic Chair can support a person weighing 100 kg
The Nomadic Chair is made from solid ash wood
When fully assembled, the Nomadic Chair can support a person weighing 100 kg
The Nomadic Chair from Jorge Penadés is built for portability rather than comfort
Nomadic Chair in its disassembled state, with steel clips required to turn it into a piece of furniture
View gallery - 12 images

Spanish designer Jorge Penadés believes that our idea of what makes a piece of furniture a luxury item has now changed. In a press release, he explains how luxury is "not anymore a matter of comfort." Instead it's being able to "decide where you want to have a moment of peace, a chance to escape from hectic activity of contemporary lifestyles." This philosophy is in plain view with his Nomadic Chair, which sees comfort reduced to a minimum to increase its portability.

The Nomadic Chair is made from solid ash with joints made of powder-coated steel. According to the designer, these connections are inspired by traditional wooden joinery, and mean the whole thing can be assembled and disassembled in under two minutes using "small gestures," and with no screws, nails, or glue needed.

When assembled, Nomadic Chair can easily support a person weighing 100 kg (220 lb). When disassembled, it can be packed up and carried as a backpack with the aid of leather and ratchets.

The Nomadic Chair can be worn like a backpack for the ultimate in portability

Each self-produced, hand-crafted Nomadic Chair costs €944 (US$1,270). Penadés hopes to use the same principles involved in the Nomadic Chair to create a whole collection of furniture pieces which are "itinerant objects rather than static [objects]."

While there are much cheaper, more practical alternatives to this, the Nomadic Chair could provide a little luxury for those who want something more stylish to sit on in the sun than a deckchair or walking stick seat. The video below shows the Nomadic Chair being assembled and used.

Source: Jorge Penadés via Designboom

View gallery - 12 images

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Good ThinkingPortableSeatFurnitureChairWood
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Dave Parrack
Dave is a technology journalist with a ravenous appetite for gadgets, gizmos, and gubbins. He's based in the UK, and from his center of operations writes about all facets of modern and future technology. He has learned more in his five years writing for the Web than he did in 11 years at school, and with none of the boring subjects thrown in to the mix.
13 comments
socalboomer
Hey - let's have a sit. . . Sure, I'll give you a couple of minutes to assemble your chair. I'll just expand my foldable chair (which is comfy) and watch.
Done yet? Cool - let's move over there now that the sun has moved. Oh, you have to disassemble? Okay, cool, I'll wait for you over there.
You're here? Bout time! Go ahead, I'll wait while you reassemble your chair again. Doesn't look too comfy. . .wanna try my $15 foldable chair that I got at Target? Yeah - you can get the same one just about anywhere. . .
Slowburn
I was unaware that stylish meant ugly.
robinv
Sort of like a victorian campaign chair. But ugly and uncomfortable.
HobbledGrubs
Seriously... this looks as comfortable as sitting on a church bench with a stick in your back. I would love to pay 1000$ for the privilege to lug around a heavy uncomfortable plywood chair, and it would look so cool. When does the portable dining table come out?
Buellrider
Hey, look at me. I had a bunch of wood scraps I cobbled together into a chair looking thingy. Anybody want to pay me for what most people would have used for kindling?
John Lacson
I think Coleman has something better (looks, design, and portability) for $15
Purple-Stater
A luxury is anything that is not a necessity, and is not about comfort, though comfortable things do tend to be luxury items. While I do like the little clips to hold everything together, there is absolutely nothing inspiring about this chair. 200 years ago it would have been an amazing feat, but today it fails on so many levels. It is too bulky, too heavy, not pretty, less comfortable, and completely impractical compared to multiple alternatives that cost more than 95% less... and are more comfortable.
It'd be a cool item to have been designed as a school project, in that it is rather creative, but not something I'd be showing as a professional example.
Riaanh
This is not really a chair, it should have been named: "a Design Study for alternative wooden fabrication and assembly processes" but that was too long, so they called it a chair. ;-) It would work nicely as a puzzle though.
Matt Fletcher
So how does the $1,270 price tag get calculated. $4 wood & machining $4 sweat shop salary $2 marketing and admin costs $1,260 profit for me!
This product is dumber than the pet rock because at least with that they were selling it as a trending item to school children for a few $s. This is trying to ripoff adults for a ridiculously crummy chair but don't worry I'm sure you'll sell more than a few to rich friends & government sponsored museums.
The best thing about this chair design is you can burn it.
Guy DeWardener
$1300?? Meh. Just look at the related articles below... Should sell the clips and plans to woodworkers who want a project, or call it art.
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