SavannaSeat
DIS Copenhagen- Furniture Design Studio
Summer 2023
A lightweight lounge chair that uses a tensioned canvas seat and backrest to create comfort through minimal materials.
01
Inspiration & Constraint
Inspired by Kaare Klint’s Safari Chair, SavannaSeat reinterprets the classic design through a suspended canvas seat and backrest and simplified joinery.
The project challenge was to build a functional lounge chair with only three 2×4s of ash wood
Safari Chair
SavannaSeat
02
Design Development
Concepts were refined through sketching, full-scale drafting, and prototyping to establish proportions, seating angles and structural connections.
03
Fabrication Process
Produced full-scale technical drawings to establish dimensions, joinery locations, and ergonomics.
Milled ash lumber to final dimensions, routed edges, sanded surfaces, and prepared joinery locations using Domino connections.
Constructed the frame using traditional techniques and dry-fit assemblies to verify alignment.
Sewed and installed canvas panels for the seat and backrest to complete the chair.
04
Materiality
Ash wood is a durable and lightweight hardwood with the clean Scandinavian Aesthetic that this course was all about.
Heavy-weight canvas creates a suspended seat that molds to the body for comfort.
Natural leather straps secure and tension the canvas backrest while adding warmth and contrast to the material palette.
The Seat
While designing SavannaSeat, I became interested in the possibility of changing the chair’s character over time. The seat and backrest were designed to be fully removable, allowing different fabrics or materials to be installed as tastes and spaces evolve. An adjustable leather fastening system at the back compensates for the natural stretching of the canvas, helping maintain comfort and tension throughout the chair’s lifespan.
