Iron Furniture Design · 2024
Silhouette Dining Chair
- A' Design Award 2024 Iron Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: InsidherLand
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 13,199
- Verification code E69837D9B3 · Verify this award
About Silhouette Dining Chair
Designed by Architect Joana Santos Barbosa, Silhouette is an eye-catching dining chair reminiscence of a woman's sensual curves. Having been influenced by twentieth-century artists that painted several realities in one single dimension, such as musicians having instruments as part of their own bodies, Joana embodied this joint dimension into a surprisingly elegant design. The dark structure reveals the movement of a woman’s hips who is seating on the object, while the curved seat draws an inviting smile. Silhouette carries narrative and symbolism and is truly mesmerizing.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Silhouette is a surreal reminiscence of a woman's sensual curves that arise designed in an eye catching dining chair.
The slightly curved seat draws an inviting smile that harmonizes with the structure, revealing the movement of the hips, as parts of a female body. Silhouette shows contours of a mysterious profile and presents the observer with feminine sensuality. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Height 87cm
Width 46cm
Depth 53cm
Seat Height 48cm - Tags
- diningchair, chair, silhouette, luxurychair, organicdesign, modernchair, moderndesign, luxuryfurniture
- Production Technology
- Beech wood structure frame with translucent dark brown finish in high gloss varnish and luxury soft fabric with gold accents.
- Design Challenge
- The creative process of this chair was one of the most "suffered" among the pieces in Joana Santos Barbosa's portfolio. In fact, the design of this chair took more than two years to be completed between back and forth in the process because it carries such a strong symbolism that she wanted to transform it into a clean and sensual design.
The beech wood structure was hand crafted and carved to bring to mind the profile of a female body and was given a translucent brown finish that naturally stands out on the soft beige upholstery with fine golden threads that represent the delicacy of the female personality. - Project Duration
- Since the first sketch, the design took more than two years to be fully developed. The production is entirely made in the city of Porto, located in the north of Portugal.
- Operation Flow
- Being a chair made of a single structure in solid wood, the object cannot be manipulated to acquire other forms. This chair was specially designed for dining spaces that appreciate the high quality of manual manufacturing processes and luxurious finishes.
- Research
- The design of the Silhouette dining chair was influenced by the sensuality of a woman's curves. Both the woman and the functional object seem to merge naturally. It is thus possible to admire this integration in the surrounding perspectives of the chair, with special focus on the back, in which we identify parts of a body that seem to be living in the object.
The creative process was based on some works by twentieth century painters who applied the same technique of representing people and objects in a single dimension. However, working on the design of the chair in three dimensions, its development was carried out in full-scale prototypes, in order to get a functional and sensual final design that conveyed all its inspiration in an elegant look. - Inspiration
- The representation of several realities seen simultaneously from a single point of view has become fascinating for several twentieth century artists like Paul Klee who drawn musicians and fragments of their musical instruments as an integral part of their own bodies.
The joint dimension of people and objects strongly influenced the Silhouette dining chair, whose elegant wooden structure uncovers parts of a woman’s body who sits on it. - Image Credits
- © InsidherLand | All images are InsidherLand property
- Patents
- © InsidherLand
Colors of Silhouette Dining Chair
Design Interview about Silhouette Dining Chair
The Silhouette dining chair shows contours of a mysterious profile and presents the observer with feminine sensuality. The design uncovers parts of a woman’s body who sits on it and we immediately observe the natural movement of a woman’s hips in the back legs of this elegant chair.
Inspired by the work of some 20th century artists like Paul Klee that brilliantly represented several realities simultaneously on a single point of view, my intention was to create a beautiful chair that would recreate these joint dimensions of a woman and a chair in one single object.
Commercially, the Silhouette dining chair features as one of my best-sellers but I really wish to spread both the design and its beautiful inspiration all over the World. That’s why I present the inspiration also in a video that can be seen in this chair page on my website: https://www.insidherland.com/portfolio-items/silhouette-dining-chair/
I started to design this chair many years ago, but something wasn’t right. The design just wasn’t balanced… So I hang the drawing on the wall and there it stayed for more than one year. I would just pass by a look at it with so much certainty that one day I would get the answers to finish it. When that day arrived, I finished the design and was so happy about it. The entire creative process and production of the prototype took me more than two years. Great designs require patience.
I always work with conceptual narratives in my designs so there’s always a strong influence for each of them. For Silhouette, I had an image in my mind of a woman sitting on a chair. I pursued this idea until it became reality.
The Silhouette dining chair is already one of the best-sellers among my designs and is produced by my team, located in the city of Porto in the north of Portugal. We sell this chair all over the World.
I'm obsessed with transforming concepts and narratives into real pieces through design. The creative process is beautiful and so exciting! I believe that customers around the World really feel the authenticity of the inspiration which allows them to create an emotional connection with a creation that is so more than an object.
I was influenced by some paintings, not design. For instance, the Pianist drawing of Paul Klee in which this painted represents both the man and his Piano as parts of his own body. I became obsessed with the possibilities of this joint dimension that this drawing inspired both the Silhouette dining chair and the Pianist coffee table, both belonging to my Identity Collection.
Customers around the world that look for exquisite luxury pieces with an effortless sophisticated vibe.
For all reasons I mentioned above, I believe that the concept of Silhouette is unique and surely sets the design apart.
The design of this dining chair shows a line that represents a beautiful Silhouette of a woman’s curves.
I draw my designs mostly on paper and computer and the prototype evolution occurred at the factory with real scale models.
Silhouette is a chair that truly transforms a conceptual approach into an elegant creation.
Silhouette is produced by my team of talented Portuguese artisans. They are the ones who make my goals come true by applying traditional techniques and so much knowledge into the production process.
Silhouette was completely developed by local artisans, using the knowledge of traditional techniques both in woodwork as in upholstery.
As mentioned, I had to stop the creative process of this chair for more than a year. The design just wasn’t balanced… Furthermore, there were some challenges regarding the correct angles of the structure in order to receive the seat. The translucent brown shade was also developed in the factory and some experiences were made before choosing the final shade.
My Niemeyer II armchair won the Gold A’Design Award in last year’s edition and I got a free nomination ticket for this year’s edition. I decided to submit Silhouette and I was pleasantly surprised to receive an new Award!
Well, what I’m reminded each time I create a new design; that perseverance is such an important quality!