Floater
responsive design studio www.responsivedesign.de
Floater Floater is a chaise longue designed together with Mathias Bernhard at the Chair for CAAD, ETH Zurich and was produced in close collaboration with Kl채usler Acrylstein AG. The elegant sinuous design is based on the distinctive material properties of acrylic stone combined with advanced digital design and fabrication techniques.
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Generative modeling and analyzation tools were used to maximize the available area on each sheet of 12mm “HI-MACS solid surface� and minimize stress due to bending.
The design was adopted according to these parameters and split in three parts to be manufacturable from standard sheet dimensions.
The 2D-CNC cut flat pieces were then vacuum formed on 3-axis CNC milled MDF molds and afterwards seamlessly glue-joint to form a single monolithic shell.
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The wings on each side appear to hardly touch the ground and emphasize the floating appearance of the chaise. They also enable the user to gently rock back and forth while relaxing on the smooth and durable surface. Four prototypes have so far been realized in Alpine White, Fiery Red and Black. The project is still under development but different colors are available on demand.
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Manuel Kretzer is an architect and designer from Germany.
He studied architecture at the Universities of Dresden, South Australia and Karlsruhe, where he graduated in 2008 with an interactive pavilion that was realized at Burning Man, Nevada, USA. He worked as Research and Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Karlsruhe and later he was employed with Philip Beesley Architect Inc. in Toronto, Canada. Since March 2010 he is Scientific Assistant at the Chair of CAAD at the ETH in Zürich. His research focuses on digital design and fabrication methods with a special interest in new technologies and materials and their application in temporary, interactive art and architecture. He has realized a number of large scale sculptures and installations and been granted several scholarships and awards.
Mathias Bernhard studied architecture at the Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL] and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich [ETH Zurich]. After his diploma [2006], he has been working at RAPLAB [rapid architectural prototyping laboratory, ETH Zurich] and started as a research assistant at the chair for CAAD in spring 2009. From 2008 to 2009, he participated in the Master of advanced studies [MAS] program in CAAD. www.mathiasbernhard.ch
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responsive design studio
www.responsivedesign.de www.caad.arch.ethz.ch
info@responsivedesign.de
Manuel Kretzer, 2011