sergio enríquez crafts stackable 'alto chair' from single plank of wood

Stackable ‘alto chair’ pays homage to mexican tradition

A contemporary tribute to tradition, the Alto Chair pays homage to Mexican vernacular chairs while offering a fresh perspective on materiality and optimization. Crafted by industrial designer Sergio Enríquez, the stackable collection has been carved from single, solid planks of wood using basic manufacturing processes for efficient material usage in an effort to employ conscious craftsmanship. Finished and stained by hand using sustainable wood oil, each chair’s form reveals a minimalist yet artistic finish that simultaneously allows the chair to dress up any domestic space as an accent piece, or subtly blend in with the interior. 

all images courtesy of Sergio Enríquez

Sergio Enríquez embraces the essence of wood

With a body of work spanning houseware, product, and furniture design, Sergio Enríquez has long sought to create meaningful objects that enrich everyday life. With Alto Chair, he has crafted a stackable seating solution that combines elegant design with practicality. For the industrial designer, material optimization was the core motivation for the project and as such each unit of the Alto Chair utilizes a single plank of solid wood of commercial dimensions, maximizing the potential of the chosen material. This not only allows for an efficient use of resources but also results in an aesthetic which can seamlessly assume the role of an accent piece or blend subtly into any domestic context.

Drawing inspiration form the Mexican vernacular chair, Sergio Enríquez employs a design language that reveres the essence of materiality, sculpting the chair’s form and proportion to enhance the inherent beauty of wood. The Alto Chair has been crafted by basic methods for transforming wood, allowing for versatile adaptability to various processes — be they artisanal or industrial. Across its surface, the influence of local context is also visible, as the design embraces the material and expresses it through subtle gestures and unexpected details.

Alto Chair in Oak Wood

Alto Chair pays homage to Mexican vernacular chairs with contemporary expressions

hand-stained with black oil

Sergio Enríquez sculpts the chair’s form and proportion to enhance the inherent beauty of wood

crafted from a single plank of wood to optimize materiality

its lightweight form can adapt to various domestic contexts

project info:

name: Alto Chair
designer: Sergio Enríquez

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edited by: ravail khan | designboom