Existence Chair

Existence Chair

Existence Chair is a contemplative furniture design that reimagines the traditional concept of seating through a philosophical lens, created by designer Liujincheng Zhang. This innovative piece, which earned the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, represents a deliberate departure from conventional comfort-focused chair design, instead prioritizing intellectual engagement and mindful presence. Crafted from stainless steel with precise dimensions of 1000mm width, 800mm depth, and 600mm height, the chair's brutalist material choice intentionally challenges physical comfort to facilitate mental liberation. The design philosophy draws inspiration from Descartes' famous proposition I think, therefore I am, manifesting as an architectural statement that defines spatial boundaries while creating room for cognitive exploration. Developed between May 2019 in California and completed in January 2021 in China, the chair exists as a pair of prototypes that demand active participation from users through muscular engagement and focused attention during the sitting experience. The design process involved extensive research, beginning with conceptual sketches and progressing through small-scale mockups before reaching the final prototypes. The chair's distinctive characteristics include its decisive form, brutal materiality, ordered composition, and deliberate embrace of emptiness, all working in harmony to create a unique sitting experience that transcends mere physical functionality. This award-winning design represents a significant contribution to furniture design by challenging conventional notions of comfort and introducing a more contemplative approach to seating, emphasizing the relationship between physical presence and mental awareness.

furniture design, contemplative seating, brutalist architecture, stainless steel furniture, philosophical design, mindful furniture

— Adam Dawson