Chen Min Design Office

Founded in 2012 Hangzhou Zhejiang
Born in 1980 Hangzhou Zhejiang
2001 Studied in Köln International School of Design
Graduated in Bachelor of Design 
from Design Academy Eindhoven
Graduated in Master of Design 
from Domus Academy, Milan
Courtesy Chen Min Design Office
www.chen-min.com
@chenminoffice

陈旻设计事务所

2012年成立于浙江杭州
陈旻生于1980年浙江杭州
2001年就读于德国科隆国际设计学院
毕业于荷兰埃因霍芬设计学院设计学士
毕业于米兰多姆斯设计学院设计硕士
图片来源陈旻设计事务所

Hangzhou Stool

People from Jiangnan (the southern area of Yangtze River) have a special attachment to bamboo. Because of the mild and humid climate and the rich soil, bamboos grow widely in Jiangnan. Therefore, bamboo is everywhere in people’s daily life. For instance, many of the household articles — mat, bed, pillow, basket, chopsticks, spoon; the furniture — chair, bench, cabinet; even the houses are made of bamboo. In springtime, bamboo shoot is a popular seasonal dish, they are fresh, crisp and a little sweet. Bamboo is also a symbol of Chinese traditional culture, it is in the poems, proses, paintings…

Hangzhou is one of the most representative Jiangnan cities. There are gardens, hills, lakes, temples in the city. The city embodies a laid-back style of life: relaxing, flexible and slow, less competitive than big cities as Beijing and Shanghai.

Chen Min’s Hangzhou Stool embodies both the romance of a Jiangnan city and the love for bamboo. 

Grew up in Hangzhou, designer Chen Min wanted the Hangzhou Stool to reflect the flexibility of the city. The stool is composed of 16 layers of thin bamboo veneers. The thickness of each bamboo veneer is the same, only 0.9 mm. But their lengths are different, which allow them to bend into an arc shape and leave space between layers. The two ends of the veneers are then glued together. One bamboo stick finally drills into the ends and connected them. The sitting surface is not hard or static, but elastic and adaptable to the weight of the sitting person. So the more weight it receives, the deeper it will bend down. 

However Chen Min mentioned that in the producing process, quite a quantity of glue would be used, and it generated a high carbon emission and had a negative impact on global warming. There might be another more sustainable material or solution for this Hangzhou Stool.