Jyu-Hachi

• Prize
  Winner in Lounge chair
• Designer
  Asaki Nelson
• School
  Western Washintgon University
• Location
  Bellingham, WA
• Project Date
  06/10/2022
• Project Link
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• Web URL
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Jyu-Hachi is an all-in-one lounge chair and table. Its design answers the questions: "How can a hard and rigid material look soft and inviting? How can a lounge chair set fit in a small space?". In my design approach, I reflected on my Japanese and Scandinavian heritage. From Japan, I applied their compact storage system culture, making it such that the side table and the ottoman are stored under the chair, yet easily pulled out and arranged. The side table and the ottoman offer additional storage.

As for the material, I thought of my Scandinavian ancestors and chose Baltic birch plywood, which also has easy machinability, strength, and excellent sanding quality. Wood is also a traditional material used by Japanese artisans, so the blend works well here, an example of the style called “Japandi”.

Jyu-Hachi consists of repeated lines orchestrated by slatted panels and their negative spaces. The resulting structure gives clean directional lines. The lines follow the curvature of the seat, which is designed with an angle that is optimized for comfort.

The name "Jyu-Hachi" means 18 in Japanese, the number of slats in the design.