There are reasons besides the admirable alliterativeness of Kumu Chair by Keech Design and getMADE design to love the product in question. Beginning, then, in no particular order, while designers David Keech and James Johnson say they "adore Eames, Panton and Jacobsen, and will not hear a word said against any of them," they yet find that their iconic designs and the subsequent imitations thereof receive a bit too much exposure. With Kumu, therefore, the two set out to forge an aesthetic alternative; they achieved as much and more besides. The chair displays the same tactile appeal and expert craftsmanship as the ply-classics by the masters, yet exhibits a decidedly distinct appearance-evoking, above all, the unmistakable architecture of Japanese post and beam.

Kumu. Designed by Keech Design and getMADE design.

Beyond its intuitive feel and unusually spare, clean look, there's process to consider. Keech and Johnson describe their experience with Kumu as creating "a chair without the client umbilical cord… a chair that would be born out of the ether, rather than extracted out of a commercial brief." Lightness seems an apt metaphor herein, especially considering Kumu's scant environmental baggage. The word translates as "to put together or assemble.” That, and the congruent advantages of same, became the driving impetus. Five components cut from a single sheet form the entirety of Kumu from tip to top. The pieces lock together in a sound, three-dimensional, puzzle-piece manner to establish excellent structural viability. For tech-minded aficionados, the designers helpfully inform, the seat and back tie in to the legs to create tension, while the back and front legs tie together to create compression: "real design freaks out there will also notice the Golden Section making its graceful appearance."

Accordingly-and very like 3rings favorites Zaishu Stool and Hug Chair-Kumu travels light: no screws or mechanical fixings translate into a certain environmental awareness, making the inherent appeal of Kumu that much greater.

Via Chairblog.