Polish designer Oskar Zieta of Zieta Studio designed the Ultraleggera using only aluminum to make it not just ultra-lightweight but also very strong. Its minimalist and elegant aesthetics may not look like much but it can definitely hold weight.
Inspired by Gio Ponti’s 1957 Superleggera, this chair is in a bid for the title of the world’s lightest chair. It only weighs 3.65lb (1.66kg), just a kilogram heavier than Massimiliano Della Monaca’s Estrema chair, which clocks in at 0.617kg. Yet it is definitely light enough to carry with just one hand or even just a finger.
Despite its stripped-down, industrial design, Ultraleggera founder Oskar Zieta said it can definitely hold weight. It went through rigorous testing to ensure quality is not compromised. As such, “every radius and every perforation is optimized for lightness and strength.” It can even carry an amazing max weight of 1200kg.
The chair gets its strength from a meticulous process that involves cutting a two-dimensional outline of the chair’s frame from two aluminum sheets. They take the sheets, weld them together, and inflate these with compressed air. The result is an h-shaped design that comprises two legs and half of a backrest. Next, they then duplicate and weld these together with laser-cut seat and back panels.
The deformation process z gives Ultraleggera what Zieta called a “three-dimensional, stable bionic structure that is surprisingly durable.” The method also conserves both energy and material, add that to the recyclable quality of this mono chair. You can melt the aluminum and shape into something new.
Images courtesy of Oskar Zieta
