According to Bob Ross, we don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents. While this is very true, few happy little accidents end up as pieces of designer furniture capable of commanding thousands of dollars apiece. At least, this was the recent scenario for product designer Christopher Stuart of the Indianapolis-based studio LUUR.
Stuart, who sells his furniture design pieces for around $10K apiece, ran into rendering problems in Rhino while designing his latest collection. Rather than growing frustrated with the popular NURBS software – as most of us likely would have – Stuart chose to embrace the glitches and work them into his designs. The result is a new series of furniture called Constructs & Glitches.
Of course, stumbling on a glitch at the least desirable moment in the design process is one thing, but seeking them out is another. To develop the imperfect forms, Stuart starts with primitive shapes and applies design features – such as a fillet or a chamfer – with variables that override what’s physically possible, resulting in error-prone shapes generated by the software. Once satisfied with the glitch as a form of design direction, he then builds functionality into the shape to make it a usable object.
While the pieces – which are commanding up to $52K – certainly err on the side of high-end sculpture rather than functional furniture, there’s no denying that these are certainly the true definition of happy little accidents for Stuart. Check out the new collection in full over at The Future Perfect.
