Liyue: A Fusion of Chinese and Bauhaus Style in Furniture Design

Haonan Zhang and Bo Xu's Award-Winning Creation Marries Tradition and Modernity

Introducing Liyue, a unique Chinese armchair that blends the ancient "LIYUE" culture with the simplicity of the Bauhaus style. This innovative design, which won the Silver A' Furniture Design Award in 2023, is a testament to the harmonious fusion of different cultural elements and modern production techniques.

Haonan Zhang and Bo Xu drew inspiration from the "LIYUE" culture, a concept rooted in the harmony between heaven and earth and the spirit of music. This cultural background, combined with the minimalist aesthetics of the Bauhaus style, resulted in a chair that embodies the beauty of rules and rhythms. The designers aimed to continue the etiquette and music culture developed with human civilization in an innovative form.

The unique properties of Liyue lie in its blend of traditional and modern elements. While retaining the structure of traditional wooden seats, it uses modern production materials, allowing it to seamlessly integrate into modern interior decoration. The chair's dimensions also reflect a keen understanding of proportions, with the distance from the stool face to the ground and the overall height forming a ratio of 9:37, and the distance from the dummy standard line at the waist to the ground and the overall height forming an approximate golden ratio of 5:8.

The chair is made from polypropylene environmental plastic material processed by a CNC machining center, achieving a 99.9% recycling rate. Some components are made from American DuPont PA materials, which are non-toxic, odorless, and 100% recyclable, aligning with the concept of sustainable development. The design also embraces minimalism by simplifying parts and components to maximize the product's ease of use and durability.

The project was launched in Nanchang, China in December 2021 and completed in February 2022. The design team faced the challenge of adhering to the principle that good design means as few designs as possible, a concept that aligns with Liyue's design philosophy. Despite this challenge, they successfully created a chair that adapts to people of different body types, ensuring that every user can get the best care.

In conclusion, Liyue is a remarkable example of how designers can draw from diverse cultural backgrounds and modern design principles to create innovative, sustainable, and user-friendly products. This chair not only showcases the beauty of Chinese and Western cultures but also exemplifies the potential of modern design techniques to breathe new life into traditional forms.


Project Details and Credits

Project Designers: Haonan Zhang
Image Credits: Designer: Haonan Zhang, water delivery equipment, 2022
Project Team Members: Haonan Zhang Bo Xu
Project Name: Liyue
Project Client: Haonan Zhang


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