Bend: A Revolution in Chair Design

Vincenzo Vinci's Award-Winning Origami-Inspired Chair

The Bend project was a complex challenge. It began with an ordinary sheet of paper, and through variations and manipulations inspired by origami, Vinci realized that the same concept could be used to create a unique chair with sleek lines. After countless tests and prototypes, the real challenge was to turn the concept into an industrial product through complex manufacturing processes.

Bend is made from only two pinched metal sheets. The seat and the backrest become one single unit after many bending steps, which build the shape and structure of the chair simultaneously. Despite being made from a thin metal sheet of 1.5mm thickness, the chair's shape, based on a complex combination of triangular faces, guarantees its sturdiness. Each edge is double-bended to reinforce potential weak parts like the legs. The result is a chair that looks like unfolded origami, not from a sheet of paper, but of steel that comes in a variety of bright colours.

The production of Bend combines handmade steps and high technology processes. It takes 52 steps to make a Bend chair. At each step, the two laser-cut metal sheets are bent and folded to give strength and three-dimensionality to the product. The pieces are then put together, and the chair is ground to smooth out the welds and create a seamless look. Creating furniture from one single material has environmental advantages, such as saving transportation between different production sites and simplifying the recycling of materials.

The chair is made of steel with nylon feet, measuring 480mm x 520mm x 790mm and weighing 6.9Kg. It is finished in electrostatic powder coating with a hammer optical surface and is available in five colours with an optional removable cushion. The design team included Stefano Campioni, Alex Chai, and Vincenzo Vinci. The project started in November 2012 in Hangzhou and finished in March 2014 in Hangzhou. It was exhibited at CIFF in Guangzhou in March 2014, at Salone del Mobile in April 2014, and at the Shanghai Furniture Exhibition in September 2014.

Bend was awarded Golden in the A' Furniture Design Award in 2015. The Golden A' Design Award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. They are venerated products and bright ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.