cross cultural chairs: mikiya kobayashi portrays japanese chair culture

exploring eight of the world’s most populated countries, ‘cross cultural chairs‘ is a project that aims to understand the evolution of sitting habits and designs depending on social and cultural differences. the research takes matteo guarnaccia, alumnus of IED barcelona’s product design course, around the world where, at each destination, he collaborates with a local design studio and their artisans to create a representative chair. at the end of the journey, the designs – as well as a book and documentary – will be presented in an exhibition at the design museum of barcelona.

as one of guarnaccia’s first stops, his research led to collaborations with mikiya kobayashi and takumi kohgei in japan.

for the ‘cross cultural chairs‘ research in japan, matteo guarnaccia and mikiya kobayashi summed up the japanese culture in the concept: ‘japan is not minimal but simple‘. focusing on the essence of the shape and simplicity of the form, the intention was to design a seat truly representative of the asian country and its culture. they avoided ideas of minimalism, which could result in a piece just matching a trend, and instead concentrated on the deepness, complexity and relevance of the culture and thus details on an object.

the starting point of the design of the chair was the zaisu (座椅子), which is a japanese seat with no legs but a normal back. found in traditional rooms with tatami mats, they are often used for relaxing under heated kotatsu tables. the research spurred the chance to compare and transform the floor-sitting culture of the past to a contemporary model of the present day, whilst also understanding that tatami mats are disappearing in favour for more standard chairs. ‘it was not easy to find a tatami‘ says guarnaccia, ‘it is something limited to high-class restaurant or hotel in the urban environment of tokyo. during my research I even found young japanese person that did not know what a zaisu was.‘

the zaisu that represents japan in the ‘cross cultural chairs’ project was manufactured by takumi kohgei, a furniture company from hokkaido with more than 40 years of experience in working with wood, especially with oak. the quality of detail and production are some of the main characteristics that define and distinguish the japanese design from other countries. this fact will be explored further as the project travels to brazil, mexico, indonesia, china, india, russia and nigeria.

project info:

title: cross cultural chairs

designer: matteo guarnaccia

education: IED barcelona

countries: brazil, mexico, japan, indonesia, china, india, russia and nigeria

collaborating designers: brunno jahara, studio jose de la o, mikiya kobayashi, studio hiji, benwu studio, SP+A, crosby studios and studio nm bello

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: tim spears | designboom