Pressed chair is a pressed aluminium chair designed by Harry Thaler that can be bent into shape into a super-light stackable chair.
By pressing structural elements into a 2.5mm sheet, Thaler was able to make a chair that pushes the limits of minimization and material. The chair which is light enough to be lifted with only two fingers, is extremely strong without any external structural support. Instead decorative features pressed into the sheet provide the required strength once the chair is bent into shape.
As part of Thaler’s aim to minimize everything he has also created a stool from the areas of scrap surrounding the chair when it is being cut. The stool, unlike the chair, is not made from 1 piece but 3. It is held together with screws.
A goldsmith, with a background that covers everything from jewelry design to carpentry, Thaler is currently completing his Masters in design at the Royal College of Art. He now divides his time between London and Merona and has opened his own studio.
Harry Thaler’s Pressed Chair is one of the Tent London Tent Selects, a program that has been set up to showcase the work of the next generation of world class designers — those who will create those “must have” items and future classics. Chosen by the team at Tent London, these UK and international designers are given the unique opportunity to exhibit free of charge during the London Design Festival within a curated area. The ultimate goal is to offer emerging designers access to industry, media contacts and the encouragement of professional practice.

8 Comments
Gonzalo Agustin Beviglia on 09.08.2010 at 10:31 AM
I’m OK with the concept of little space consuming objects. But I don’t see how that kind of foldable chair will not become flat with, say, a fat person sitting on it.
Nathan Wills on 09.08.2010 at 12:20 PM
Gonzalo,
notice that this is not a folding chair. It is a stackable chair. The expanded chair you saw is simply a pre-pressed stamping.
Gonzalo Agustin Beviglia on 09.08.2010 at 13:20 PM
oic
my bad.. thanks Nathan
Adey on 09.08.2010 at 17:49 PM
Fat people should not be allowed near nice things.
Morgan S. on 09.08.2010 at 18:55 PM
Actually Nathan, the chair is bendable, because it very light and aluminum. So, technically, if a at person sits on the chair it could bend. Gonzalo is not completely wrong. It’s in the first sentence. And yes, the chair is pre-pressed, but I’m pretty sure that the chair can be bent back into the flat shape.
Felipe Mobus on 11.15.2010 at 17:21 PM
Very nice concept and all but… isn’t the extraction and refination of aluminum an extremely energy-intensive process?
Felipe Mobus on 11.15.2010 at 17:22 PM
*of course, by “refination”, I mean “refining”
Ron on 09.14.2012 at 19:53 PM
Nice looking chair! Pressing mould(s) must have been expensive to set up? How much waste is cut from a sheet of material? Cheers
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