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Aluminium Gradient Chair: a structure that changes across the seat

A chair has different jobs in different places. Joris Laarman’s aluminium prototype lets its structure change accordingly, moving between open cells and denser metal within one object.

Written and reviewed by PatinaHall2 minutes readPublished 25 October 2026

A metallic chair-like form changes between open cells and denser areas.
PatinaHall editorial reconstruction. It is not a documentary photograph. Changing cell density gives a structural idea a visible form. The aluminium-like interpretation is not a replica, stress map or manufacturing record of the NGV prototype.
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Key facts & takeaways

At a glance

Subject
Microstructures aluminium gradient chair prototype, NGV 2016.425
Entry
Artefact story
Last reviewed
25 October 2026
Object dated
2014documented

Three things to remember

  1. This story concerns the NGV’s exact aluminium prototype, accession 2016.425.
  2. The museum describes changing cell structure across the object.
  3. Joris Laarman is credited as designer and Joris Laarman Lab as manufacturer.

A chair with changing density

The interesting change in Joris Laarman's Aluminium Gradient Chair happens within its material. Open cellular areas give way to denser ones. The NGV describes a 3D-printed aluminium chair whose computer algorithm varies the cells, thickness and pattern according to structural requirements.1

That makes density part of the drawing. A designer can describe a chair through its outer contour; here, the distribution of material inside that contour also becomes a visible decision. Some places can open up while others move towards solid metal.

The museum compares the principle to bones and plants. The useful point of the comparison is variation: different areas can carry different amounts of structure. The comparison helps explain how different areas can receive different amounts of material.1

A cell pattern gradually becomes denser until it meets a solid area.
Density can change within one structural idea. Original PatinaHall schematic, not to scale; the transition is conceptual, not a verified force map of the NGV prototype.

One aluminium prototype

The NGV catalogues this object as Microstructures, aluminium gradient chair, prototype, dated 2014. Its Triennial label also identifies it as a structural prototype in aluminium. These are two records for the same work, accession 2016.425.12

The collection entry separates two roles: Joris Laarman designed it, and Joris Laarman Lab in Amsterdam manufactured it. That distinction keeps the material experiment connected to the workshop that realised this particular object.1

A prototype gives a question a physical scale. Here the question can be seen across the breadth of a seat and the rise of a back: how should a chair distribute its material?

Looking through the surface

An open cellular area lets the eye look into and through the structure. A denser area interrupts that view. The transition makes the chair's surface something more complicated than a uniform sheet.

The most revealing way to look is to trace a change. Notice where openings begin to close, then follow the pattern into a more solid area. The chair offers a visible record of variation, even though looking alone cannot certify how much weight any part can carry.

Its memorable idea is a precise one: a chair need not give every place the same material density. Here, making those differences becomes the form.

Research notesEvidence, connections and limits

The two selected NGV records concern the same prototype and explain its design principle; they are not independent strength tests. Other Microstructures variants have their own materials and dates.

Evidence map

Connected subjects and evidence

Reviewed facts

  • Object dated 2014documented

    NGV dates this aluminium structural prototype to 2014 and identifies it as accession 2016.425. Other Gradient and Adaptation chairs are separate works.

    Reviewed 25 October 2026 by PatinaHall editorial.
    • Source 1Object title/date; medium; makers; About this work; accession
    • Source 2PDF page 204 of 226 (zero-based page 203), Microstructures label

Reviewed connections

  • Microstructures aluminium gradient chair prototype, NGV 2016.425attributed toJoris Laarmanattributed

    NGV credits Joris Laarman as designer and Joris Laarman Lab, Amsterdam, as manufacturer. The two catalogue roles remain distinct.

    Reviewed 25 October 2026 by PatinaHall editorial.
    • Source 1Object title/date; medium; makers; About this work; accession
    • Source 2PDF page 204 of 226 (zero-based page 203), Microstructures label
  • Microstructures aluminium gradient chair prototype, NGV 2016.425uses techniqueGraded cellular aluminium printing in the NGV prototypedocumented

    NGV describes an algorithm varying the printed cells, thickness, density and pattern according to the chair's structural requirements.

    Reviewed 25 October 2026 by PatinaHall editorial.
    • Source 1Object title/date; medium; makers; About this work; accession
    • Source 2PDF page 204 of 226 (zero-based page 203), Microstructures label

Research trail

Sources and further reading

  1. NGV, Microstructures, aluminium gradient chair, prototypeNational Gallery of VictoriaAccessed 25 October 2026
  2. NGV Triennial artwork labelsNational Gallery of VictoriaAccessed 25 October 2026

Last reviewed 25 October 2026. Found an error or a stronger primary source? Contact PatinaHall.