These inflatable chairs by Chinese designers Ray Jiao and Yi Wang integrate vacuum compression systems that mould the seats to the shape of each sitter (+ movie).
The seat of each chair in the Holding-Breath collection is a detachable bag, filled with foam particles and fitted with a valve that allows air in and out.
To mould the chair, the sitter connects a hand pump to the inflated bag and uses it to exhaust some of the air.
This process also allows the foam particles to bind themselves around the sitter's back and hips, holding the seat in place.
Storage pockets are included behind the backrest for hiding the pump and storing other items.
Air can be simply pumped back into the valves to rebuild the chair for a new sitter.
The collection includes a rocking chair, a bar stool and a sofa. Each has a wooden frame that is attached to the bag with nylon strings and plastic plugs.
Other unusual seating design we've featured includes a cocoon felt pod and a chair that wraps up around the sitter. See more chair design »
Here's some more information from the designers:
The Holding-breath Chair is aimed at making a chair for every unique person. The collection includes a rocking chair, a bar stool and a sofa.
The working principle is vacuum compression for shaping. It is made up of two parts, one is the wood base which supplies different using methods, the other one is the sealing bag filled of foam particles and a air valve installed with the function of letting air in and out and keeping itself in vacuum.
They are connected by the nylon strings and plastic plugs. The using process is that when you sit on the assembled chair, exhaust the air use the air pump by hand, then the bag gets harder and harder with the shape of your back and, at last, a made-just-for-you chair comes to life.
Letting the air in is the easy way to rebuild the chair. As the shape of seating is totally decided by the users, we can explore quite numbers of using methods. The project is inspired by the research of the truth- "A part of people with autism like to be squeezed".