holon institute of technology graduate chen zalkind has created his own studio, ‘ZALKIND’, specializing in furniture and consumer products made using a wide range of materials and technologies. having grown up on a kibbutz, zalkind was surrounded by many industrial factories and small workshops teaching him about the various uses of materials.
n his latest collection, ‘internal pressure’, zalkind developed a special joint that consists of two wooden dowels that were locked into a pipe using pressure, without the need for glue or screws. ‘the pipe was switched out for a wooden plank and the joints continued to evolve.‘ explains the designer. ‘this stage was full of experimentation with the materials and the many different ways I could use the joint that I was developing.’
after the project had a plethora of material to work with from all the experimenting, the next step was the implementation. for this step, zalkind matched each joint to a different piece of furniture. out of dozens, three pieces of furniture were chosen; a chair, a bench and a coat rack. the next stage was to work on the actual design of each of the pieces of furniture. the chair is based on joints where the leg and arm rest meet and are locked into place by the seat of the chair.
due to the strength of the connection there is no need for stretchers between the legs. moreover, every time you sit on the chair it tightens the pressure on the joint and therefore ensures the durability and long life of the chair. the connecting angle between the leg and the arm rest can be adjusted in a way that allows three main advantages: a wide and stable space between the chair’s legs, appropriate space between the armrests and a comfortable backrest angle for the person being seated.
from designboom