See more objects with the tag plywood, wood grain, chair design, materiality.

Object Timeline

-0001

2016

  • We acquired this object.

  • We photographed this object.

  • Work on this object began.

2017

2024

  • You found it!

Stratum Chair

This is a chair. It was designed by Ammar Kalo. It is dated 2016 and we acquired it in 2016. Its medium is laminated and cnc milled baltic birch plywood. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

The Stratum Chair's concept and appearance were driven by desires to “express materiality” and to take advantage of new fabrication technologies. Designer Ammar Kalo laminated plywood and CNC milled a complex path of undulating lines that emphasize the wood’s grain structure. The surface of the chair appears as a topographical map. In the history of furniture design, calling attention to grain patterning has gone in and out of style. From Biedermeier and the painted chests of late nineteenth-century Vermont to the stained seats of the DCW series by Charles and Ray Eames, furniture makers have embraced the visual impact of figured wood. This chair is composed of two interlocking parts that form a three-legged stance. When folded, the volume of the chair is reduced by half.

This object was donated by Ammar Kalo. It is credited Courtesy of Ammar Kalo.

  • DCM Side Chair
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  • Gift of Olive Emslie.
  • 1990-112-2
  • Time-Life Stool
  • walnut.
  • The Linda and Irwin R. Berman Stool Collection.
  • 2013-50-16

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 75 × 53 × 86 cm (29 1/2 × 20 7/8 × 33 7/8 in.)

Cite this object as

Stratum Chair; Designed by Ammar Kalo (Canadian, b. 1985); laminated and cnc milled baltic birch plywood; H x W x D: 75 × 53 × 86 cm (29 1/2 × 20 7/8 × 33 7/8 in.); Courtesy of Ammar Kalo; 2016-26-1

We have 1 video that features Stratum Chair.

Ammar Kalo: Stratum Furniture Process

How the Ammar Kalo Stratum chair is made.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Making | Breaking: New Arrivals.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/890290245/ |title=Stratum Chair |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>