The EXOCET Chair is a remarkably elegant and inherently flexible furniture design by Stephane Leathead. Two slatted wooden appendages pivot on a central metal cylinder, and this allows the chair to adopt an array of different positions, from a lounge chair to a bench, or even a recliner for two. This chair compliments another of Leathead’s furniture designs nicely: the NYCTALE Table. This piece (pictured above), is also composed of parallel segments of interlocking wood, and can be rotated in a similar way to the EXOCET Chair to modify the furniture’s functionality. It is not quite clear how the limbs of the EXOCET chair are held in position, whether it be through a release mechanism that can be set at any point in a 360˚ cycle, or whether there are predefined settings that the limbs lock to. Regardless this is a remarkably versatile furniture piece with space-saving potential, that can even sit two back-to-back as a recliner.The design of a traditional chair is everything the human body is not: straight vertical lines and a perpendicular flat seat.
It's almost laughable to realize that chairs have been designed this way for so long with little regard for our natural curvatures. Stéphane Leathead, a Canadian designer and creative director of Designarium is pushing the boundaries of design forward with the Exocet Chair, an ergonomically designed seat that conforms to the body in dozens of ways. Handcrafted from birch wood, the transforming lounger is available in several veneers including White Oak, Cherry, Walnut, Maple and Mozambique. Spinning the Exocet‘s rotating steel axis instantly adjusts the seat depending on your personal activity or comfort level. Whether lounging, reading, napping, or entertaining, this patent-pending design is fashioned for a myriad of situations. RELATED: 11 pieces of transforming furniture that work wonders for small spaces When asked how the design came to be, Exocet’s designer Stéphane Leathead told Inhabitat: “I was looking for a way to design a chair that would allow you to adjust it for your own comfort, based on our own specific different proportions.
I couldn’t find anything on the market, and I said there must be a way to design a chair that would allow this…so I said there’s no choice but to have a rotating axis to allow you to angle to the proper [position]…Egonomically nature is good for that, that kind of drop shape guided me. It’s very organic, it looks nicer, and it’s more pleasant. There’s not one straight line on our body — how come we design straight line chairs?” Leathead explains that the elegant, ergonomic Exocet Chair lets everyone become a designer. He says, “You design the chair you like — you become the designer.” While this version is better for indoor use (because the wood would warp in rain), Leathead is also looking into an outdoor version, as well as custom cushions to enhance the comfort level. The limited edition design was recently on display at NYCxDesign and has received multiple awards, including the 2015 Gold A’Design Award in Milan, the 2015 Coup de Coeur Sidim Award in Montreal, and the 2015 K-Design Award in Seoul.
EXOCET CHAIR :: A new kind of chair for all kinds of moments The Exocet™ chair is made of two sections revolving around a cylindrical axis. Each section is built with a series of identical slats interlaced with each other. The Exocet™ chair is built from one basic slat shape. The slats are then slid over a cylinder while flipping them alternatively. The Exocet™ chair is designed to adjust its configuration to your liking simply by loosening up the handle. Once the desired configuration is obtained, you lock it back in position by tightening the slats with the handle. The simple curves mold comfortably to lines of a human body, making it as comfortable as it is interesting. EXOCET is both a celebration and an evolution of the transforming furniture idea. Baltic Birch & anodized aluminum
Standard chair configuration / width: 24”, length: 60”, height: 48”
Rocking long chair configuration / width: 24”, lenght: 86”, height: 24”
Folded chair configuration / width: 24”, lenght: 60”, height: 18”
Weight: 150 lbs
We are looking for potential manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Stephane started his career as a graphic designer, after graduating from UQAM school of Graphic Design in Montreal back in 1993. In 1995 he was invited to join the LaSalle International School in Singapore as a lecturer. He developed the Computer Graphics program and shared its passion for design. In 1996, his work for the LaSalle International School was awarded at the Hong Kong Design 96 Show. After lecturing he worked in Singapore for a few years as an art director before returning to Montreal where he worked for various advertising and design firms. He co-founded Cellule Design in 2004 and lead the agency as creative director for 10 years. Under his creative direction, Stephane’s projects won the agency local and international recognition, to name a few, the 2012 REBRAND 100® Global Awards, the Summit International Creative Award, and the prestigious German Design Award 2013. He was also a recipient of Graphis Letterhead 7, winning a Gold award.
He is now a branding consultant and the creative director of Designarium, his new endeavor. Stephane is a master at synthesizing complex concepts, simplifying communication, making them accessible while maintaining the highest level of aesthetics and design. Every mandate is an opportunity to push its creative thinking to new frontiers. Designarium is a Design agency based in Montreal. With more than 20 years in the business of branding and graphic design, Stephane Leathead is jumping head first into furniture design. His love of furniture design stems from his teenage years, when he would spend hours in his workshop designing tables and chairs. In the past 10 years, as the associate and creative director of Cellule Design, Stephane designed numerous branding projects that often included three-dimensional shapes or forms. Therefore, furniture design was a natural transition for him. Exocet™ is the first design created by Stephane Leathead for Designarium. The Exocet chair can be multiple kinds of furniture, as you see fit
Back in the 1980s, transforming items was all the rage. We had little modular chairs that turned into futons, big sofas that turned into beds, toy robots that turned into toy cars. Although the trend never completely died, fads moved on. The Exocet chair didn’t get the memo. Created by Stephane Leathead, creative director of Designarium, the blond wood chair looks a lot like a giant nutcracker when folded into its single lounge chair configuration. It is both a celebration and an evolution of the transforming furniture idea. Its giant, smoothly rolling hinge allows the user to shift it into several other furniture styles, including a double lounge chair, hammock-style rocker, bench, day bed, reclining chair, and a handful of seating options with no real equivalent in other styles of furniture. Despite its lack of integral cushions, the simple curves mold comfortably to lines of a human body, making it as comfortable as it is interesting. Modern curves and minimalist design give it a Scandinavian feel, but the Exocet was created in Canada by branding, furniture and photography studio Designarium.
Designarium has a history and a mission of expressing creativity through their products, images and services. The Exocet chair is part of a two-piece set of sleek, modernist furniture, paired with a simple end table called Nyctale that includes both table and shelf storage space. Like Exocet, Nyctale can fold and unfold into a variety of different configurations. Both items are currently prototypes, and will become available in a limited edition release later this year. The Exocet chair prototype was showcased last at Canada’s Interior Design Show in Toronto to general accolades. IDS has for 13 years been Canada’s leading expo of interior and artistic design, drawing speakers and brands. Their Prototype Exhibit, where Exocet debuted, celebrates the theme of innovative consumer products built for mass production. +#advertising+#culture+#design+Advertising+Automotive+Brand Development+Canada+Canada's Interior Design Show in Toronto+creative director Designarium+culture+Culture+Design+Innovation+Nyctale+Stephane Leathead+The Exocet chair
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