• Free Applications

    Free Applications is a 3D-printed chair based on a rough model of a chair in 1:10 scale. Free, easy-to-use programmes were used for its design and modelling, allowing mistakes generated by the misinterpretations of AI technology at different stages of production.

    The search for a quick and flexible process in turn led toward a new kind of aesthetic – or new beauty standard. The time required to manufacture a chair was reduced, and the errors that occurred during production were turned into advantages that determined its final appearance.

    The first version of Free Applications was produced in collaboration with Brightplus, a Finnish manufacturer of renewable materials. The four different raw materials all come from natural sources: the black from recycled minerals and forest industry residues; the transparent amber from willow bark retained from road maintenance; the transparent blue from woad plants commonly used for cosmetics and textile production; and the creamy yellowish from bacteria-fermented food proteins.

    Small pieces, size wise easily adapted to a home 3D-printer, were printed and then assembled like puzzle into the final chair.

    The Free Applications chair has been produced for and is now shown at the retrospective exhibition Strategies for Moving Freely at Helsinki Design Museum 8/9 – 31/12 2023.