Nissa Kinzhalina’s Stubby Chair displayed at Dubai Design Week 2021

Nissa Kinzhalina’s Stubby Chair, made out of metal and elmwood, is a fine combination of the delicate and heavy. The finely shaped wooden log seat retains its natural charm with circles and cracks on its seat clearly visible. The metal frame around the log serves as a final finishing material, lending the piece of furniture a combination of interesting solids and voids. The chair was recently showcased by the designer at the Dubai Design Week 2021 alongside some of her other projects, namely the Urban Philosophy Chair, Ripple Effect Table, Green Hint Chairs and Living Light. 

Kazakhstan born designer, Nissa Kinzhalina, develops most of her designs through the process of spatial thinking, twisting and rotating imaginary lines and surfaces to give form to interesting objects. Kinzhalina developed this process of design conception from her childhood habit of observing huge empty spaces and drawing out the observed reality in her head. Other influences that have impacted her practice include Japanese architecture, which first pushed her towards furniture design. In fact, Kinzhalina believes that architectural and furniture designs can borrow from each other, with one leading to the other and vice versa.

Drawing regular inspirations from the conversations she has, the movies and songs she consumes and the everyday objects she surrounds herself with, Kinzhalina designs and develops furniture products that appear like a fine composition of geometric shapes and lines, voids and wholes, usually monochromatic or dichromatic and made out of one or two materials.

The sleek and light metal that outlines the armrests and backrest of the chair, while seamlessly merging with the elmwood log, is a welcome contrast to the visually and physically heavy wood seat.

Sitting heavy at 20 kilograms, the Stubby Chair can alternatively be viewed as a sculptural piece of furniture that offers the solace of familiar silhouettes and natural textures. The new manner of assembling these known and familiar materials to form a chair pricks the curiosity of its users and viewers alike, pushing them to explore the emotions they are experiencing while interacting with it.