maxime bourgault's profile

Pausa Chair

maxime bourgault
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Pausa Chair
As a product design student, I had this inevitable desire to design a chair. Fortunatly in my second year this project came along. We had around 7 weeks to design and build a half scale model of a folding chair using at least three types of materials (wood, metal, fabric). I was assigned the relaxation theme. Throughout the project I had a strong desire to come up with something elegant and functional while giving the users a certain urge to come and sit down.. With that mindset the Pausa chair (spanish for pause) came to fruition.

JANUARY 2020
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
The Context.
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
I chose Vipp hotels as my intervention context. This hotel offers a chic and refined environement deep into the swedish forest. The chosen context influenced the whole creative process. From the selection of materials to the colors, and even to the general shape of the chair.
The Exploration.
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
DURING THE DRAWING PHASE OF THE PROJECT, I FOCUSED MAINLY ON 4 KEY WORDS: SIMPLE MECANISM, FITS IN CONTEXT, COMFORTABLE AND AESTHETICS.

During this step of the project, I was able to find the base idea of the project. The soft back of the chair would wrap the users giving them a comforting and relaxing feeling. The chair's legs would also reinforce that wrapping concept with their unique shapes.

First Three Prototypes
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
The first model was done simply to see if anything actually made sense. From there I built a first wood model to test the structure and the strenght of the concept. I then refined the aesthetics of the chair and built a final prototype in laser cut cardboard to get the closest looking chair to the final product. This allowed me to see what i wanted to do differently and also to test exactly how I would be able to do the back of the chair.
Pausa's Structure
The four steel pieces that fit into the chair's legs were welded to two 1/4 inch steel rod. Then, to cover the imperfections, I applied plaster and then sanded it to make it as smooth as possible. Finally, i painted all of it matte black to fit with Vipp Hotels' style.
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
The Fabric
The fabric backrest of the chair was a project of its own. My first intention was to make it soft in order to gently welcome the user. I also wanted it to be rigid enough so it could stand straight when nobody's sitting on it. This really was quite a challenge. With the help of a seamstress, I first tried to pad the back with 2 interlining sheets and with cotton fill. In addition, I inserted a metal wire between the fabric layers to give a constant circular shape to the back. However the wire broke after installing the back to the chair so I decided to try a different method. In the second prototype, I put stronger interlining and it immediatly looked better. For the final product, I simply put more of the same interlining, added cotton fill and bodice hoop. Once attached to the chair, the backrest held up nicely. If I had to do it again, I would like it to be more rigid so it would hold even better..
The Final Product.
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
The vipp shelter hotel offers an environment where the interior and the exterior merge harmoniously. The Pausa folding chair offers a modern, chic and refined aesthetic that blends in perfectly with both environments. The metal assemblies within a wooden seat recall the immersion of the hotel vipp (made of metal) in the heart of the forest. The flexible backrest envelops the user in a comforting way and the simplicity of storage (to free up space) contributes to the user’s peace of mind, giving them an energizing break.
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
Adobe Portfolio chair chair design furniture industrial design Montreal product design Université de Montréal University of Montreal
The chair's seat was made using a cnc machine
Modeled in Solidworks, Technical drawings in Rhino.
Pausa Chair
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