We thought it fitting to celebrate Jay Chatterjee's significant contributions to the architectural environment of Cincinnati with a sculptural furniture piece inspired by our own contribution to campus architecture, the Richard E. Lindner Athletics Center at the University of Cincinnati. While the unique boomerang shape of Lindner Center is a singular response to the tight context—a contextual free form—here we were able to explore and elaborate on the form outside of any specific context. more
The sculptural form undulates, tilts, twists, and torques on all sides, and the definitions up, down, top, and bottom are ambiguous. Placed one way, it is a bed. Turned another way, it is a seat or a desk. One more maneuver and it is a post to be leaned on. Openings and holes provide storage for a book, a pillow, or a glass of wine. The object’s positioning defines its use. By changing position, it obtains a new program. In that sense, the plan becomes the elevation and the section becomes the plan.
The form was created using computer modeling to bend, twist, pinch, and cut the original form of the Lindner Center boomerang. The resultant object is clad in a smooth white skin of Formica Solid Element ARCTIC 102. The undulating and seamless forms further distort the orientation of the piece and reveal the ambiguity of purpose. back
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