This stackable plywood chair was designed by Philipp Hermes and myself in 2011 as part of our bachelor's degree at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. The project was supported with materials and know-how by Becker Brakel, the leading supplier for moulded wood in the furniture industry. The name “Donald” was a reference to the famous cartoon character, as the chair's seat reminded us of a duck's beak.

In analogy to a concept car, Philipp Hermes and I wanted to design a “concept chair” that pushes the technical possibilities of moulded wood production to their limits. Although there were many companies interested in the chair, we have (so far) been unable to find a distributor for it. For the time being, it remains a “concept chair”.

The chair consists of two interlocking plywood parts, which are connected with “Dual Lock” reclosable fasteners from 3M.

During the design process, we often sat together talking and drawing on the same piece of paper. The resulting drawings were never intended for presentation, but they tell a lot about our design process. Two designers in dialogue, not only verbally, but also in the form of drawings and models.

The chair was designed by constantly alternating between digital CAD models and physical models made of cardboard or wood.

As the front legs develop from the backrest and the rear legs from the seat, we had to find a way to make the legs as stable as possible and the surfaces as thin as possible. This is why some of the internal veneer layers taper to zero, which is technically challenging.

It wasn't just about designing a chair, but also about designing the moulds that we produced ourselves.

During the manufacturing process, we were kindly supported by Becker Brakel with both materials and expertise. However, the moulds and models were produced entirely in the university's workshops.

The biggest technical challenge was the production of the part that forms the rear legs and seat, as the layers of veneer first had to be cut to an exact contour and then pressure had to be applied from different directions during moulding. Somehow we managed it.