Silver Furniture Design · 2024
Lotus Guest Chair
- A' Design Award 2024 Silver Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: Ming-Li Chang
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 1,280,500
- Verification code 67A6FB8AAF · Verify this award
About Lotus Guest Chair
Lotus is a guest chair designed to bring forth a translation of traditional Ming Dynasty chair design for a modern space. The design was inspired by a Ming Dynasty folding chair that was created to allow high-class generals to maintain a gesture of status during an outing. There's a Chinese idiom that describes the growth of a lotus flower, out of the mud yet unstained. Kindness, warmth, generosity, and pureness of heart are all emotions the chair hopes to convey.
Within the contemporary dialogue between Eastern and Western design philosophies, Ming-Li Chang's Lotus Guest Chair represents a thoughtful synthesis that honors traditional craftsmanship while embracing modernist formal clarity. The work demonstrates remarkable sensitivity to material expression, allowing the natural beauty of ash wood grain to speak through the organically shaped seat while introducing painted surfaces on the backrest that create visual lightness and formal definition. The horseshoe-form backrest evokes historical seating archetypes found across various cultural traditions, yet its refined proportions and seamless joinery techniques position it firmly within contemporary design discourse. Chang's decision to expose the diagonal support strut rather than concealing it within the design speaks to an honest expression of structure that recalls mid-century principles while the flowing curves suggest a more organic, nature-derived design sensibility. The lotus reference embedded in the nomenclature finds subtle expression in the seat's petal-like silhouette and the radiating wood grain patterns that mirror botanical growth structures. Photographed within an architectural setting that balances contemporary glass and stone surfaces with traditional lantern elements, the chair demonstrates its capacity to bridge aesthetic worlds and cultural contexts. The image composition itself, with its partial human presence and lifestyle framing, invites consideration of how furniture design shapes and reflects daily experience, how objects we inhabit become extensions of identity and aspiration. One might contemplate how this single chair encapsulates broader conversations about heritage and innovation, about the enduring human desire for objects that satisfy both functional requirements and aesthetic longings.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Lotus is a guest chair designed to bring-forth a translation of traditional Ming Dynasty chair design for a modern space. The design was inspired by a Ming Dynasty folding chair that was created to allow high-class generals to maintain a gesture of status during an outing. There’s a Chinese idiom that describes the growth of a lotus flower, out of the mud yet unstained. Kindness, warmth, generosity, and pureness of heart are all emotions the chair hopes to convey.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 530 mm x Depth 550 mm x height 728 mm x seat height 475 mm
- Tags
- Chair, Chinese, Wood, Joinery, Minimal
- Production Technology
- "Lotus" features an intersecting design with a unique lap joint and defined by a contrasting finish. This version of the chair is fully manufactured in China, structured with traditional Chinese furniture wood joinery methods, seamless, sturdy, and clean.
- Design Challenge
- Communicating with manufacturer through prototyping and developing the structural joinery.
- Project Duration
- The project started as a design in October 2022 in Los Angeles and finished in March 2023 in Shanghai.
- Inspiration
- Lotus is inspired bya very special chair from the Ming Dynasty. This was a folding chair design to be a gesture of status for someone of high government power when they’re on the go. What’s interesting is that this unique scenario resulted in a one of a kind design. The intersecting movement along with the archetype of a Chinese ceremonial chair is translated and captured through this new design. The result is an intersecting design with a unique lap joint and defined by a contrasting finish.
Colors of Lotus Guest Chair
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Design Interview about Lotus Guest Chair
Lotus is a guest chair designed to bring-forth a translation of traditional Ming Dynasty chair design for a modern home environment. The design was inspired by a Ming Dynasty folding chair that was created to allow high-class generals to maintain a symbolic status through furniture during an outing.
There’s a Chinese idiom that describes the growth of a lotus flower, out of the mud yet unstained. “Lotus” in Chinese is Lian, a character that is also in my late grandmothers name. Having lived through such a turmoil part of Chinese history my grandmother was still the kindest, generous, warmest, and purest of heart person I knew. All of which are emotions I wanted to convey through this chair.
I hope to be able to push this design further and find a brand I can work with to bring this chair to a wider audience.
From the first version to the final version, the different variations in design and prototypes took took about half a year.
This design came to be because of a thought and inspiration that came from my family and culture. I also wanted to take on the challenge of designing a wooden chair. I think it is so cool for a design to have their own wooden chair.
I wish to be able to sell my design to a brand and company that can work with me to bring this design to more people's homes.
I just really wanted to design a wooden chair. There's something so magical about a wooden chair. A well designed wooden chair carries a lot of emotions and meaning.
Other than being influenced by a historical Ming dynasty chair I was also under the influence of Cory Grosser, someone who I worked closely with for the past years. I also take a lot of inspiration from designers that are so culturally keen like Neri & Hu and Kengo Kuma.
The taget customer would be someone who enjoys a clean and approachable guest chair in their home.
The structure is unique to wood joinery methods in China and the two toned contrasting finish makes is subtly standout.
There’s a Chinese idiom that describes the growth of a lotus flower, out of the mud yet unstained. “Lotus” in Chinese is Lian, a character that is also in my late grandmothers name. Having lived through such a turmoil part of Chinese history my grandmother was still the kindest, generous, warmest, and purest of heart person I knew. All of which are emotions I wanted to convey through this chair.
I used Solidworks and other software but quickly moved to a lot of hands-on mock ups and prototyping. Drawing and sketching over prototypes is extremely effevtive for me.
The joinery method and the two toned wood finish.
I worked with local craftsmen in China to figure out and understand the lap joint.
Technology was used to create the CAD model and drawings to help communicate with craftsmen. We went back and forth with 3D printed models and working with local Chinese craftsman to understand how everything can be put together while maintaining the structure and proportions that I wanted with the design.
Research mainly went behind the building method, materials, and finishes for the design.
This chair went through multiple rounds of full scale prototypes. Turns out, figuring out the promotions and scales of wooden chair is really really hard.
I thought that A'Design could help push my design further through the deep rooted platforms that it can provide.
I learned to be more expressive with my details and how to be more convincing with my storytelling.
I just want to express how thankful I am for all the support and recognition I have had with this project from the family and friends around me.