Chair Share: Frank Giordano
The next installment of our Chair Share series features Frank Giordano’s lovely rustic-modern chair. A musician who played the hammered dulcimer for students at the Merce Cunningham Trust in New York City, Frank was inspired by instruments of world folk music when he conceived his chair. It is made of two bent birch plywood side panels with a slatted back and seat of reclaimed poplar, which can be strummed like a guitar just for fun. He also looked, as many architects do, to Charles and Ray Eames, who, in the 1940s, experimented with lumber-core plywood chairs that are coveted today.
To make the sides, Frank glued up two ¼” layers of plywood, bending and clamping them to a large half-circle form. The slats he chamfered, with spacing to make it feel more organic, and fastened with reproduction antique screws. The circular elbow on either side references a guitar’s sound hole. A simple water-based urethane finish protects the sides, while the slats remain au naturel. We say magnifique!
We're using cookies to deliver you the best user experience. Learn More