The most recent Project by Okubo Studio is the Fulgar Chair, mixing traditional Mexican design with interactive technology and design to create a new piece of furniture with lights and personality. The Acapulco chair is emblematic of Mexican culture, which radically transforms not just its materials but its utility and environment.
The project arose from a desire to explore the ways in which artisan craftsmanship and tradition can hold a place in contemporary design. After 2 years of research, the designers decided to work with Mexican craftspeople to mix the cultural heritage with newer technology, coming up with a re-interpretation of the Acapulco chair. The result was an interactive chair that reacts when you get close to and sit in it.
In seeking to develop a chair that responds to the person using it, its features look to establish a connection between the user and the chair. Additionally, the lights within the chair mean that it transforms into an illuminating object for the surrounding space. Its interactivity is achieved through sensors which are activated by nearby movement and sound. The chairs are woven by craftspeople and then finished in a Swiss laboratory for quality and verification of the technology. The project has been well received in Zurich, Switzerland and the in Silicon Valley in the USA.
