Contoured seating as the product of wood slat construction is something of a trend lately – and Jeff Dah-Yue Shi’s Bamboo Chair Jun Zi for the Dragon Fly Gallery serves as the most recent example. Beyond sleek aesthetics and soft contours, the natural flexibility of wood slats creates a slight bounce, fulfilling the requirement of comfort as well. Made entirely of bamboo, it features a simple geometric anatomy – and an appearance that varies from different viewpoints.

Bamboo Chair Jun Zi. Designed by Dah-Yue.

Bamboo Chair is composed of a series of rounded box-shaped frames (for the base, the back structure and the backrest). From the front, the chair seems lightweight with its base (the seat itself) practically invisible. Its narrow frame is a thin outline around a wide opening, thus resembling a tunnel. From the side, the chair appears much more substantial with the resulting form similar to the Chinese character which denotes ‘a noble man’ (which, coincidentally, bamboo has also been a symbol of in Chinese literature and philosophy).

The trend of wood slat (or lath) construction can be seen with James Lear’s Top O bench, contoured to accommodate the human derriere, and of course Naoto Fukasawa’s Titikaka bench for B&B Italia. Both examples contradict the rigid shape of traditional outdoor benches. Bamboo chair uses wood slat construction differently, treating the laths as highly moldable forms – more similar to the approach of Alvar Aalto (see his Tea Trolley 900 and Lounger 43). Also check out Brothers Dressler Onedge Rocker, which similarly explores the flexibility of wood slat construction – in a chair.

via designboom.