Chair made from rubber bands wins design prize

ERJ staff report (DS)

Boone, North Carolina -- A chair constructed of 65,000 rubber bands took first place in the 6th Annual Chair Design Competition at Appalachian State University. The prize, Sponsored by the Department of Technology and Environmental Design, was awarded to Preston Moeller, a senior industrial design major at Appalachian.

Moeller wrapped rubber bands around steel rods and pipe insulation to create a chair that was comfortable, colorful and quirky. As first place winner, Moeller received a check for $3,000.

He said he made the chair to look and feel like it was 100 percent constructed from rubber bands. “This chair has a unique springy sitting area that softly holds the user,” he wrote in his designer's statement. “The form mimics the pull the rubber bands would achieve as they pull on themselves. The rubber band chair is fun and colorful. It almost looks like a fun toy that has been enlarged to a human scale where the user is sitting in a giant toy. Though it may look like it is all for fun, it also happens to be very comfortable.”

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Press release from Appalachian State University