N.O.L.A. Chair

Winner of the Future Furniture Competition from Interior Design Magazine.

The demand for plywood in advance of a hurricane increases a hundredfold as residents use the strong and durable product to cover the windows of their homes, businesses, and schools. Unfortunately, once the danger passes, this readily-available resource is oftentimes left to rot unused or disposed of in local landfills. In looking at this typical lifecycle of hurricane-ready plywood, this submission proposes another option for both the resource and the community.

A modern chair for both indoor and outdoor use, the N.O.L.A. chair consists of just a 1/2 sheet of readily available plywood. Designed to be both practical and affordable, the piece fits together with nothing more than a series of slip joints, making this simply-built chair easily assembled, disassembled, transported, and stored. The chair's plan are open-source, ensuring the community benefits solely from the enterprise and product.