“Hedgehog” Chair

“The Second Life for Wandering Chairs" is a chair reuse program aiming for continuous recycling, gathering, design, and exhibition. The project is planned by the China Academy of Fine Arts, School of Innovative Design, Institute of Social and Strategic Research. It recycled unused and abandoned old chairs from the community. These chairs were then designed, renovated, and reused by cross-disciplinary guests, teachers, and students to enrich their daily lives, becoming “newly birthed” public facilities. Mr. Zigeng Wang is invited to participate in the 2021-2022 wandering chair program named “I am a chair of ()", completing the design of a “Hedgehog" chair. In this creation of interests and concepts, designers re-detected what is unseen and re-examined the relationship between the substance and person in reality. Designers became participants in social actions, meanwhile considering the meaning of sustainable urban culture. PILLS claimed the 14th chair for renovation design. The original bottom and back of this elegant blue-green chair were the same. We also installed the same four legs on its back, making it a “hedgehog". The back of the “hedgehog" chair can become a sitting surface, and the sitting surface can also be the back, blurring the traditional “chair back - chair seat" relationship when using the chair, forming a mirror symmetry in visual and functional aspects. The “Hedgehog" chair creates a unique aesthetic experience and brings more possibilities for chair usage. Users do not need to follow the monotonous posture of “sitting" when using the chair. They can use the legs under its seat to “sit" down, or the legs attached to its seat and back to “lie" down. People can sit on flat ground or lie down on stairs and slopes. The relationship between body and space is updated through the connection via the chair. The “Hedgehog" chair has recently obtained a patent. At the same time, PILLS carried out the transformation design of its own furniture chairs in its studio with the same design concept. The second “Hedgehog" chair was born and brought a lot of joy to friends who came to visit PILLS.

Project Information Project Production: Vanke Hangzhou Instruction: The Department of Hangzhou Ecological Environment Project Organizer: Big Roof Culture Producer: Yan Zhang Curation Team: China Academy of Fine Arts, School of Innovative Design, and the Institute of Social and Strategic Studies Curation Instruction: Jun Jiang Creation Team: Xiaoxu Jia, Xiaolong Li, Yichi Liu, Yuchen Shi, Ruijing Zhuge “Hedgehog Chair” Design Team: Chief Designer: Zigeng Wang Design Team: PILLS / Yingxiao Chen, Tian Zhou