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Design story

Makerchair: a whole chair from many small pieces

A chair can be larger than the working area of a tool if it is made in smaller parts. Makerchair turns that practical observation into a visible design idea: the assembled object keeps the pattern of its components.

Written and reviewed by PatinaHall2 minutes readPublished 23 October 2026

Interpretive four-legged chair with a continuous curved seat and back covered by fine interlocking puzzle seams and pale material patches.
PatinaHall editorial reconstruction. It is not a documentary photograph. An interpretation of a chair assembled from interlocking components. The pattern explains the series’ central idea; it is not a replica of either NGV prototype or a usable fabrication plan.
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Key facts & takeaways

At a glance

Subject
Makerchair series
Entry
Design story
Last reviewed
23 October 2026
Designed
2014documented

Three things to remember

  1. Cooper Hewitt records the Makerchair series in 2014.
  2. NGV’s Puzzle and Diamond prototypes use different materials.
  3. The component pattern can remain visible in the assembled chair.

Divide the chair to suit the tools

The Makerchair series asks what happens when a large, curved object is resolved into many smaller components. The meeting between parts becomes a surface pattern instead of disappearing beneath a uniform cover.

Cooper Hewitt includes several Makerchair variants in its account of Joris Laarman Lab’s work, dating the series to 2014. Puzzle and Diamond belong within a wider investigation connecting computational tools with making and assembly.1

Similar questions, different objects

The National Gallery of Victoria records its Makerchair (Puzzle) prototype in ABS and oak. It separately records a Makerchair (Diamond) prototype in painted maple and ash. Both date to 2014; they are not interchangeable descriptions of one physical chair.23

That difference matters to the visual argument. A component system is an approach rather than one compulsory material recipe. Different patterns and materials can explore how smaller units negotiate a larger continuous form.

A group of small alternating-colour squares points towards a simple chair outline, explaining how a larger object can be assembled from smaller units.
Original PatinaHall schematic, not to scale. Repeated small units are gathered into a larger furniture form. The square grid is a conceptual symbol for components, not the Puzzle prototype’s interlocking geometry or a fabrication-ready pattern.

The seam becomes something to read

On an ordinary chair, attention may pass straight over the places where parts join. Here the recurring boundaries invite the eye to move across the surface, noticing how a curve is shared between components.

NGV’s account also discusses the historical availability of design files for modification.2 That context opens a conversation about participation without making every published file a present-day instruction or licence. The furniture’s immediate lesson is visible: assembly can give an object character as well as bring its pieces together.

Research notesEvidence, connections and limits

The 2014 series contains distinct variants. NGV’s Puzzle prototype uses ABS and oak; its Diamond prototype uses painted maple and ash. Their materials and historical file availability do not establish a universal recipe or a current licence.

Evidence map

Connected subjects and evidence

Reviewed facts

  • Designed 2014documented

    The 2014 series contains distinct variants. NGV’s Puzzle prototype uses ABS and oak; its Diamond prototype uses painted maple and ash. Their materials and historical file availability do not establish a universal recipe or a current licence.

    Reviewed 23 October 2026 by PatinaHall editorial.
    • Source 1Makerchair series, 2014: puzzle, diamond and other variants; craft and computational tools

Reviewed connections

  • Makerchair seriesdesigned byJoris Laarmandocumented

    The cited primary or institutional record identifies this designer for the repeatable model or coherent project family. A design credit does not identify the manufacture of every example.

    Reviewed 23 October 2026 by PatinaHall editorial.
    • Source 1Makerchair series, 2014: puzzle, diamond and other variants; craft and computational tools
  • Makerchair seriesuses materialABS and oak in the Makerchair Puzzle prototypedocumented

    The 2014 series contains distinct variants. NGV’s Puzzle prototype uses ABS and oak; its Diamond prototype uses painted maple and ash. Their materials and historical file availability do not establish a universal recipe or a current licence.

    Reviewed 23 October 2026 by PatinaHall editorial.
    • Source 2Maker, date, ABS and oak; Amsterdam manufacture; historical design-file availability

Research trail

Sources and further reading

  1. Joris Laarman Lab: Design in the Digital AgeCooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design MuseumAccessed 23 October 2026
  2. Makerchair (Puzzle) prototype, 2014, object 2016.428National Gallery of VictoriaAccessed 23 October 2026
  3. Makerchair (Diamond) prototype, 2014, object 2016.427National Gallery of VictoriaAccessed 23 October 2026

Last reviewed 23 October 2026. Found an error or a stronger primary source? Contact PatinaHall.