An object that pushes the boundaries between functional design and artistic statement will be presented at the Isola Design Gallery in Milan from April 7 to 13, 2025. The work, entitled Sinking Chair, is made of 3D-printed concrete and combines industrial-looking shapes with a suggestive, deep red synthetic resin element. The piece of furniture, whose design is based on Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining, aims less at everyday usability than at a content-laden examination of memory and collective experience.
The chair looks as if it is immersed in a liquid. This visual metaphor is reinforced by the contrast between the solid, static concrete form and the seemingly dynamic resin surface. The choice of material deliberately refers to durability and architectural stability, while the liquid element can be read as a symbol of transience, violence or emotional traces. According to the curators, the object is a reflection on the cyclical nature of social crises and the lasting effects of traumatic events, whether on an individual or collective level.
By using additive manufacturing techniques in the concrete sector, the work also demonstrates the creative potential of 3D printing for experimental and non-linear forms in furniture design. Functional aspects are deliberately set aside in favor of a narrative, almost scenographic effect. The technical precision of the print contrasts with the organic-looking resin element and emphasizes the tension between control and loss of control.
The Sinking Chair is not intended as a political statement in the narrower sense, but rather as an invitation to engage with current trends that take up historical patterns. In its material and conceptual design, the object demonstrates how 3D printing can also contribute to discursive debate in the field of design.
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