Carnaval Chair by Guido Lanari + Jesica Vicente

This elegant chair is the work of Guido Lanari and Jesica Vicente, and is a remarkable piece of design given the limited material usage involved. The frame of the Carnaval Chair is made from a single strip of plywood which is bent to form a complete loop, with the gap then spanned by simple black elastic bungee cord.

The single strip of plywood that comprises the frame of the chair is closed with an inset C-shaped segment, which reflects both the profile silhouette of the chair as well as the Carnaval name. This ‘C’ is flared and works in a similar way to butterfly joints in traditional woodworking, which are used to reinforce splits in the timber and join two parallel sections of wood together.

Criss-crossing elastic bungee cord forms the sitting surface in the Carnaval chair. This is threaded through holes in the chair’s frame to form an interlaced mesh that cushions the sitter. The way that the black elastic cord is effectively sewn to the wood is similar to the Consola Table by Jorge Diego Etienne for NotWaste.

Its fair to say that this is a very accommodating and comfortable chair for such a minimalist piece of design, with both the frame and the elastic cord flexing to the sitters weight. The sweeping curve of Carnaval’s frame also allows it to serve as a rocking chair adding a further element of responsiveness.