Bent Laminated Wood: Folding Timber

A detail of furniture made with bent laminated wood. Wood is cut into thin sheets, stacked, and pressed into curves in a mold, allowing for shapes unattainable with solid wood: chair legs turn ninety degrees in a continuous arc rather than two joined pieces; the backrest and seat are a single continuous curved surface; the trolley handle is a fluid bend. At the cross-section, the laminated grain is clearly visible—parallel lines of thin sheets, a hallmark of this technique. The wood is light-colored birch, finished only with clear varnish or white wax. This method allows good design to be mass-produced. Avoid: using solid wood carving to create curves, hiding the laminated cross-section, using dark stained wood, adding metal joinery.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一組以層積彎曲木製作的家具細部。木材被切成薄片後疊合並在模具中壓成曲線,因此可以做出實木無法達成的形狀:椅腳在轉九十度時是一道連續的圓弧而不是接合的兩根;椅背與座面是一整片連續的曲面;推車的把手是一道流暢的彎折。在斷面處可以清楚看見層積的紋路——一層一層平行的薄片線條,是這種工法的標記。木材是淺色的樺木,表面只上清漆或白蠟。這種做法讓好設計可以被量產。避免:使用實木雕刻做出曲線、把層積的斷面隱藏起來、使用深色染色的木材、加入金屬的接合件。