#baltic birch plywood

Pongo Coatrack

We feel strongly that great designs appear to be effortless. Objects of desire that function, while maintaining a state of comfort. Our design methodology translates proven and established classics into contemporary methods of making. This translation serves to invent a new identity for a familiar strategy.

For this project, we tackled the twisted-stick coat rack as a typology. Our first inclination was to melt and weld these sticks together. Though impractical, it would have been possible to purchase a tree and carve this object out as a solid. Instead we looked to five-axis milling as an operation to ensure three individual sticks could be carved efficiently, shipped efficiently, and still align precisely with mechanical fasteners. Clever spiraling fastener placement allows the single component to attach to itself, instead of requiring variation between the sticks. In doing so, we were faced with the challenge of producing the moment in the design we are most fond of—the belly buttons. These internalized nubs rhetorically call for the bolts. The three sticks wrap around each other in such a way that the bolts align with the neighboring parts, making the assembly a simple task that requires no instruction manual.

size: 21" X 21" X 64"
mate­r­ial: Baltic Birch Plywood or Solid Ash
sustainability: in addition to sourcing our plywood from managed forests, we source our solid woods locally.
fabrication: 5-axis cnc milling

–matterdesignstudio

The STRATUM chair was born out of a desire to create a chair that expresses its materiality in a very organic fashion, while taking advantage of advanced CNC milling and fabrication technologies. Comprising of two interlocking parts, the chair can fold and reduce its overall volume by half. Sharp sinuous lines run along the edges and highlight the its functional features. The flowing striated pattern is revealed by carving strategically designed local and global geometries into laminated plywood. Terminating the chair at the ground with three legs creates a sense of delicate balance.

–kalo