Glider Chair
Grand Interview
An in-depth conversation about the ideas, structural principles and development of Glider Chair, originally published as part of the A’Design Award Grand Interview series.
01 A New Structural Typology
02 Material Contrast
03 The Seat-Fold Potential
04 Art-Driven Design
05 The Hub & The Flex Bolt
06 Deliberate Naivety
07 Future Material Series
08 Art, Design and Function as Equals
09 A Replaceable Seat-Fold
10 Narrative Design
Question 01 — A New Structural Typology
The Glider Chair stands as a remarkable synthesis of sculptural artistry and functional ingenuity, earning recognition within the A' Furniture Design Award category, one of the most prestigious international design competitions in the world. Is there a particular aspect of the Glider Chair that you feel has not yet received the attention it deserves, and that you would like to share with the design community for the first time?
One aspect of the Glider Chair that has not yet received the attention it truly deserves is the degree to which it represents an entirely new typology within contemporary furniture design. Many high-end pieces distinguish themselves through materials or detailing, but the Glider Chair is built on a structural and conceptual logic that is fundamentally different from what currently exists on the market.
The chair unites sculptural expression and functional clarity in a way that is rarely seen. Its form is not an aesthetic gesture added on top of a conventional construction; it is the construction. The Seat-Fold, the Tubular Cantilever Base, and the overall balance of the piece emerge from one coherent idea, where structure, geometry and storytelling are inseparable.
This integration of narrative is also unique. In the Beuys Series, the reference to Joseph Beuys’ healing is embedded in the felt, while the upcoming Hodja Series draws on the cultural mythology of flying carpets. These layers are not decorative — they shape the identity and the physical experience of the chair.
Finally, the replaceable Seat-Fold introduces a level of longevity and adaptability that is extremely rare in the high-end segment. It allows the chair to evolve over time without traditional upholstery work, making it both sustainable and visually versatile.
If there is one dimension I would highlight for the design community, it is this: the Glider Chair is not simply a new chair. It is a new way of thinking about how sculptural logic, functional engineering and cultural storytelling can coexist as equals within a single piece of furniture.
Question 02 — Material Contrast
The Glider Chair captivates with its striking visual tension between the warm, organic Merino wool felt Seat-Fold and the cold, geometric precision of the stainless-steel Flat Metal Frame, a contrast that resonates deeply with contemporary audiences navigating between nature and technology in their living spaces. How did you arrive at this specific material pairing for the Glider Chair, and in what way does this interplay of warmth and geometry reflect a broader design philosophy about the relationship between organic and industrial forms in furniture?
The felt entered the process after I had completed my initial prototype in 4 mm vegetable‑tanned grain leather. Grain leather is beautiful and performs well structurally in relation to the Seat-Fold, but its smooth surface can be a challenge in terms of comfort. A colleague suggested that I try working with felt, and I’m still grateful for that hint. The introduction of felt, in combination with the glider theme, immediately opened a conceptual door, allowing me to draw on Joseph Beuys’ compelling story of his plane crash and rescue by nomads.
The interplay of diametrical opposites has always been a natural part of my practice. I’m drawn to the meeting point between the organic and the industrial — not as a contrast to be resolved, but as a productive friction that generates form, meaning and emotional resonance. In the Glider Chair, the warmth of the felt and the geometry of the steel are not competing forces; they are two parts of the same idea, reflecting a broader design philosophy in which materials with fundamentally different logics can coexist and enrich one another.
That this pairing also fits seamlessly into a wide range of spaces is a welcome bonus. It softens the modern functionalist home and adds a touch of modernism to the traditional living room.
Question 03 — The Seat-Fold Potential
The Glider Chair incorporates Merino wool felt, a material known for its natural lanolin-based self-cleaning properties, thermal comfort regulation, and sound-absorbing qualities, all of which address genuine concerns about material longevity and the quality of domestic environments. How do you see the Glider Chair's use of naturally functional materials contributing to a broader conversation about sustainable and health-conscious furniture design, and what possibilities do you believe this approach opens for the wider furniture industry?
I am a passionate advocate for Merino wool, both in my work and in my daily life, and I cannot think of a material better suited to this chair project. Merino wool felt supports human comfort while contributing to long‑term sustainability. It is essential for our wellbeing that we embrace naturally functional materials, which in my view will always be preferable. The structure of the felt, its expression, and the way it is shaped and processed open up possibilities for a wide range of new products based on emerging sustainable materials and future material logics. Such innovations could form the basis for future series, expanding the narrative universe established by the Beuys Series and the Hodja Series.
Question 04 — Art-Driven Design
The Glider Chair has earned the Iron A' Design Award from one of the world's most prestigious international design competitions, a recognition that acknowledges its innovative use of materials, its aesthetic originality, and its contribution to the field of furniture design. Given that the Glider Chair bridges fine art, craft, and functional furniture through its origami-inspired construction and its reference to Joseph Beuys' symbolic use of felt in the Beuys Series, how do you believe this recognition positions the Glider Chair within the broader discourse on art-driven design, and what does it signal for the future of conceptual furniture as a commercially viable and culturally meaningful practice?
Receiving the Iron A’ Design Award positions the Glider Chair within the broader discourse on art‑driven design by acknowledging its blend of conceptual thinking, material exploration, and functional construction. The recognition shows that the professional design community values approaches that merge artistic intention with practical form.
In this sense, the award suggests that the Glider Chair’s narrative and symbolic layers are understood as meaningful components of its identity, not merely decorative storytelling. It affirms that culturally engaged design has a legitimate place within contemporary practice, even if it remains a niche within the commercial market. For me, the recognition signals that hybrid forms — situated between fine art and furniture design — are taken seriously and can contribute to a wider conversation about what design can be today.
Question 05 — The Hub & The Flex Bolt
The development of the Glider Chair presented a distinctive structural challenge: the tapered T‑shape of the Seat-Fold demanded entirely unconventional engineering responses, including the invention of a custom Hub and a Flex Bolt with an integrated O-ring to ensure stability from a single rear support point. Could you walk us through the moment you realized that conventional joinery solutions would simply not serve the Glider Chair, and how the process of designing those bespoke components deepened your understanding of the inseparable relationship between structural engineering and aesthetic integrity in furniture?
The first prototype of the Glider Chair was created during a three‑week residency at The Danish Art Workshops (SVFK). I arrived with nothing more than a 1:10 paper model of the Seat‑Fold and armrest, with no clear idea of how the base should be. This early version, made in 4 mm grain leather with an 80 × 4 mm Flat Metal Frame, allowed the legs to split into two 40 mm supports, resulting in an almost insect‑like design. When I later reduced the frame thickness to 3 mm, this solution was no longer viable, and I realized that conventional joinery would not support the design. This challenge led to the development of the central Hub and the Tubular Cantilever Base, which also gave support to the front of the seat.
I could have chosen to fix the Tubular Cantilever Base to the Flat Metal Frame with a conventional bolt‑through‑a‑hole solution. Instead, I developed a connection that extends the chair’s intuitive assembly logic: the Tubular Cantilever Base simply slides over the Flat Metal Frame from behind, naturally finding its position before being locked in place with the Hub.
This makes the Flex Bolt an intentional part of the chair’s visual identity — a kind of elegant cufflink in the form of a clean Ø22 head that echoes the Ø22 tube itself and avoids the visual noise of a traditional hex socket. The fact that the Flex Bolt is partially concealed by the outer edge of the Seat‑Fold subtly reinforces how the chair is refined down to the smallest detail.
Question 06 — Deliberate Naivety
The Glider Chair began as a paper model in 2009 and required sixteen years of research and prototyping before reaching its final form in 2025, a journey that moved through early experiments in 4mm grain leather, the adoption of Merino wool felt, the evolution of the Hub design, and the extensive material and bending research behind the cantilever base. What does this extended creative arc reveal about your philosophy of design development, and how did working on the Glider Chair over such a sustained period change your understanding of what it truly means to complete a design?
I always strive to produce something that stands out from the mainstream. My creative process — in art as well as design — often begins with a desire to push beyond what is considered possible. When someone tells me something is difficult or problematic to produce, that is precisely when I become most motivated. The Glider Chair’s sixteen‑year development reflects this philosophy. I often begin from a place of deliberate naivety, allowing myself to explore without constraints before gradually returning to common sense. This long arc of experimentation sometimes opens unexpected pathways, such as the development of Glider Chair Nomad (2016), which pushes the Seat‑Fold principle to its limits. The time and care invested in following these pathways — striving to solve problems as they arise without ever compromising the integrity of the chair, and resisting any “quick‑fix” solutions that would put its structure or aesthetic at risk — this is what it truly means to complete a design.
Question 07 — Future Material Series
The Glider Chair is presented as part of a conceptual series that includes the forthcoming Hodja Series, which draws on the Danish children's tale of Hodja and translates the idea of folding a rug into a functional chair, while current research also points toward a fully self-supporting metal mesh version. How do you envision the foundational folding and bending principle of the Glider Chair evolving across these future iterations, and in what way does the Glider Chair's design language serve as both a point of origin and a continuing reference point for this broader body of work?
The Hodja Series based on rugs truly began to take shape with the introduction of Glider Chair Nomad in 2016, which added a rolled‑up headrest and folded side wings that pushed the origami principle to its limits. Yet I have never forgotten the original idea: a fully self‑supporting Seat‑Fold with no or minimal internal support. At SVFK, I created a 1:6 metal‑mesh model that was both structurally strong and transparent, casting a beautiful shadow that replicated the Seat‑Fold on the floor. This experiment opens the door to future limited editions and special editions, all rooted in the same foundational folding and bending principle that defines the Glider Chair. In that sense, the Glider Chair remains both the point of origin and the continuing reference for the entire body of work.
Question 08 — Art, Design and Function as Equals
The Glider Chair represents an extraordinary convergence of cultural reference, material intelligence, and structural invention, earning it the Iron A' Design Award and an international debut at Superdesign Show during Milano Design Week 2025, bringing its origami-driven concept to a global audience for the first time. Bringing together the Glider Chair's artistic ambition, its real-world functionality, and its potential to reshape how furniture can function as a medium for storytelling and cultural memory, is there a dimension of this project that you believe holds the greatest significance for the next generation of furniture designers, and that you would most want to pass on to them?
Many art-design projects contribute valuable ideas to the world, but the space I have carved out — balancing conceptual storytelling with functional furniture — is uniquely my own. The Glider Chair demonstrates that a piece can be both sculptural and practical, both culturally resonant and commercially viable. If there is one message I would pass on to the next generation of designers, it is that innovation often emerges from the courage to merge disciplines, challenge conventions, and allow materials to speak with their own voice.
Question 09 — A Replaceable Seat-Fold
One of the most thought-provoking features of the Glider Chair is the deliberate choice to allow users to replace the seat cover themselves, and even to substitute it with a personal rug, thereby placing the origami folding principle directly into the hands of the person living with the chair. In what way does this feature fundamentally transform the relationship between the Glider Chair and its owner over time, and how did you navigate the design tension between enabling that degree of personal participation while preserving the visual coherence and structural integrity that make the Glider Chair so distinctly itself?
The possibility for users to replace the seat cover themselves was not part of the original concept; it emerged later as a natural evolution of the design. For the individual owner, the ability to fold and mount their own seat cover deepens their relationship with the chair over time — the act of replacing the cover becomes a small ritual that renews both the object and the user’s sense of ownership. It also allows the chair to follow the owner through different phases of life, materials, and interiors, giving it a continuity that most furniture never achieves. This feature makes the Glider Chair especially relevant for the hospitality sector, where durability, maintenance, and aesthetic adaptability are essential. As new sustainable materials continue to enter the market, they can be integrated into future material series, expanding the narrative possibilities in the same way the Beuys Series and Hodja Series have done.
Question 10 — Narrative Design
For design enthusiasts encountering the Glider Chair for the first time, the Tubular Cantilever Base offers a gentle natural bounce that is rarely found in chairs of this sculptural character, while the broad faceted stainless-steel armrests conjure the presence of a fully upholstered armchair despite the Glider Chair's lean and aerodynamic silhouette. How did you calibrate the sensory and physical experience of inhabiting the Glider Chair across its many components, and in what way does the Glider Chair's capacity to simultaneously evoke the aerodynamic lightness of a glider aircraft and the childhood delight of folding a paper plane inform the emotional and experiential register you intended for the person who encounters it in a living space?
The sensory experience of the Glider Chair was calibrated through a long process of testing, refinement, and close attention to how the body responds to movement and material. The Tubular Cantilever Base was developed to create a gentle, natural bounce — just enough to give a sense of lightness, but never so much that it compromises stability. This subtle motion is essential to the chair’s character; it echoes the effortless glide of an aircraft in the air.
The broad, facetted stainless-steel armrests were shaped to evoke the presence of a fully upholstered armchair, even though the overall silhouette remains lean and aerodynamic. This contrast between visual lightness and physical support was intentional. I wanted the user to feel both grounded and uplifted at the same time.
Emotionally, the Glider Chair draws on two parallel associations: the aerodynamic lightness of a glider plane and the childhood joy of folding a paper plane. Both references speak to a sense of freedom, imagination, and movement. My intention was to create a piece of furniture that does more than provide comfort — it should also awaken a quiet sense of playfulness and curiosity in the person who encounters it in a living space. The chair invites you to sit, but it also invites you to dream.