Tangent Chair

Tangent Chair

Tangent Chair is an innovative seating design that exemplifies the harmonious fusion of geometric principles and material exploration in contemporary furniture design. Created by architect and designer Joseph Bertucci, this sophisticated piece showcases the inherent strength and flexibility of plywood through its distinctive double-curve design. The chair's composition features three layers of cross-laminated bending plywood, adhered with epoxy and finished with a hickory veneer, measuring 2 feet 9 inches in height and 2 feet in width, with a seat height of 1 foot 5 inches. The design's defining characteristic is its void, comprised of three tangent circles with a typical radius of 3 inches, which creates a visually striking geometric pattern while maintaining structural integrity. Through the integration of traditional fabrication techniques and modern digital manufacturing processes, including CNC-milled molds and specialized wood-bending methods, the chair achieves a delicate balance between visual lightness and structural rigidity. The design process, which spanned from September 2013 to April 2014, was influenced by geometric theories of mathematicians like Gian Francesco Malfatti and Jakob Steiner, as well as modernist furniture design principles. The chair's innovative approach to material manipulation and geometric form earned it the Bronze A' Design Award in the Furniture Design category, recognizing its contribution to contemporary furniture design through its unique combination of aesthetic appeal and technical execution. The design successfully demonstrates how traditional materials can be reimagined through modern fabrication techniques to create furniture that is both functionally sound and aesthetically sophisticated.

furniture design, geometric pattern, plywood construction, contemporary seating, innovative fabrication, ergonomic design

— Adam Dawson