Cologne 2011: London designer Harry Thaler's Pressed Chair is one of two joint winning projects in this year's [D3] Contest, an international competition for young designers organised by imm cologne.

The chair is made from a 2.5mm-thick aluminium sheet with a relief pressed into the surface, which provides structural strength once the legs are bent into place.

A stool using the same technique is made in a similar way from three pieces bolted together.

Thaler developed the project while studying at the Royal College of Art in London last year.

His project shares first place with OLA Foldable Table by Swedish studio AKKA - more information to follow soon.

Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs will interview the [D3] Contest winners tomorrow as part of our series of Dezeentalks at [D3] Design Talents in collaboration with imm cologne. The talks are free so come along! More details »

imm cologne takes place 18-23 January 2011. See all the stories about the event in our special category.

See films of all the Dezeentalks at last year’s fair here.

The information below is from Harry Thaler:

Pressed Chair

Pressed Chair is a pressed aluminium chair which has been bent into shape to form a super-light, stackable chair.

For Pressed Chair I wanted to create an elegant and simple chair from a single sheet of 2.5mm aluminium. By pressing structural elements into the 2 dimensional sheet, I was able to make a chair that pushes the limits of minimization and material. The chair, which is light enough to be lifted with only two fingers, is extremely strong without any external structural support. Instead decorative features pressed into the sheet provide the required strength once the chair is bent into shape.

Materials used:
Aluminium sheet 2.5mm, 1 m² for one chair

As part of my aim to minimize everything, I have also created a stool from the areas of scrap surrounding the chair when it is being cut. The stool, unlike the chair, is not made from 1 piece, but three. It is held together by screws.

See also:

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[D3] Contest winners 2010	[D3] Contest winners 2009	See all the stories about the event in our special category.