Chair design: a practice beyond utility

This thesis reconsiders chair design not as a commercial practice, but as a meaningful response to the design problem that almost all everyday objects are designed solely as practical tools. Drawing from phenomenological theory, which distinguishes between reality and perception, this study introduces the idea of designing chairs that subtly challenge the functionalist view of human life. It explores how chairs can be designed to evoke not only utility but also richer, non-mundane experiences such as memory, emotion, and playfulness.

This idea is illustrated by many well-known chairs, such as the Ball Chair by Eero Aarnio and Spun, a rotational chair designed by Thomas Heatherwick. I introduce two of my own designs of the same spirit, Mother’s Embrace, which can be perceived as both a lounge chair and a memorial to late mothers, and Chair of Solemnity, which combines the function of a chair with the symbolic presence of a ritual object.