Ross Lovegrove has created ‘Diatom’ for Moroso. Presented at the 2014 Salone del Mobile, the infinitely vertical stacking chair for indoor and outdoor use draws its formal qualities from nature, retaining simple geometries that are realized using complex production processes.

Entirely computer generated, Lovegrove has adopted technologies typically used in the automotive industry (feruglio engineering) to envision ‘Diatom’. Each seating object is developed through pressed hydroforming in which a die-cast aluminium sheet is pressed into a three-dimensional shape – a marvel of structure devised from exploring the rules of mathematics that dictate the vegetative development of living organisms. The legs are punched of the seat bowl itself and further welded to form tubular supports – a juncture in which two techniques meld into a single piece. The use of aluminium makes ‘Diatom’ 100% reclcyable, while also ensuring that it encompasses the lightest weight possible, eliminating the need for steel while ensuring equivalent levels of performance.

Image courtesy of Moroso & Ross Lovegrove

via designboom & dezeen