When one looks at it, it seems solid, stiff and severe. When one sits on it, it is a remarkable experience, a ‘feathering’ cushion with a comfortable feel.

RESTLESS LEGS & Carolien Laro

SPRING WOOD RESTLESS LEGS

SPRING WOOD RESTLESS LEGS WITH WEIGHT

SPRING WOOD, THE ORIGINAL

SPRING WOOD, THE PAPERCLIP

SPRING WOOD THREE SEATER, ‘THE BRIDGE’

THE PAPERCLIP & Carolien Laro

The idea of ‘spring wood’ is that of a ‘solid wood’ bearing a contradiction in itself. When one looks at it, it seems like a ‘butcher’s block’. Solid, stiff and severe. Though when one sits on it, it is a remarkable seating experience which is not in line with the experience of the eye. It is a ‘feathering’ cushion with a comfortable feel.

Carolien wanted to make wood ‘flexible’ and has applied this thesis and contradiction in a stool. Her first frame was the wooden frame. Then the ‘paperclip’ frame came to life.

The Paperclip Frame: A very fragile frame instead of a wooden frame that accompanied the first stool. A rubber ‘silent block’ was concealed in the wooden top.

Restless legs: Carolien took another step further when she wanted to incorporate the legs into the seat. But: since the seat bends, the legs had to be flexible yet stable. This flexibility was accomplished by inserting small wheels into the legs. Not in the usual way but ‘cross-coupled’ so that the legs could move in and out when one sits on the stool. The name ‘restless legs’ was another small step since with every move of the body the legs move too.

According to weight the elasticity of the seat which can vary: a 75 kilogram person has a different saw-depth than a 100 kilogram person. So it is made to measure if one’s weight exceeds 75 kilograms.

The Bridge: A two, three or four- seater bench is created using a steel frame. And of course the inside-mounted rubber ‘silent blocks’ are located at the corner of every seat. The bridge can be powder coated in any RAL colour.

DESIGNER: Carolien Laro, The Netherlands, www.carolienlaro.nl. Text credit Willem Schulpen. DATE: 2010.
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