Mies van der Rohe (and here I’m speaking of the architect as opposed to my friend’s not-so-famous but oh-so-cleverly-named white dog) once quipped this quotable quote: “A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous."

posi +ive Lounge Chair. Designed by Jittasak Narknisorn.

Since another 3Rings writer has already covered the Pandanus Chair, it falls to me to complete the yin and yang of this year’s One Good Chair Competition. While the two co-winners share much in common regarding their design ideals, the Pandanus is decidedly feminine, so it’s a good fit for me to write about the Posi+ive Lounge Chair (due to my masculinity of course). Brainchild of Jittasak Narknisorn-who, by virtue of his very name had no choice but to go into design (or tennis)-the Posi+tive Lounge Chair evolved from folding a piece of paper in a “nice, clean, and comfortable shape,” because Narknisorn believes “if I can do it in a simple way, it will be easy to make in an industrial system.”

Translating the paper into plywood, Narknisorn bent the one piece of material to both conform to the body’s shape and to minimize waste-the only waste being the plus-shaped cut-outs necessary for the chair’s pliability and comfort. The Posi+ive Lounge Chair’s legs also eschew squandering: formed from one round steel bar, the legs also continue their way upwards to make armrests (this whole idea of continuity reminds me of those Mensa exercises in which you need to make a shape without ever crossing the line). The Posi+ive is stackable-this feature is also seen (and keen) in the Pandanus-a gesture that is as practical as it is space-saving as it is energy-saving (remember shipping?).

The Posi+ive’s shape welcomes your body, as does its cushion, a wool felt fabric cut in the exact shape as the plywood core (again, minimal waste). All of the ideals that went into creating the Posi+ive did not overtake the chair’s looks: clean, simple, and angular, the Posi+ive fits into residential and commercial decor. At home, put on a pair of noise-canceling headsets and read a Saramago novel. In the office, sit back at a meeting-you might be comfortable enough to enjoy the piped-in Musak version of The Cure.