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Wobot Chair Research                       2025

For the Wobot chair research, prototypes were made that show it is possible to 3D felt a chair completely out of wool, replacing the inner structure that is often made of foam rubber, glue, metal and/or wood. The chair is felted by the Wobot, a 3D felting robot developed by Christien Meindertsma in collaboration with TFT - Tools for Technology.

The 1:1 scale chair is made from Rotterdam wool in grey semi-cleaned wool; this technique allows for some straw residue to remain in the wool.

On a smaller scale, a 1:2 test was done with pure white Rotterdam wool, grey Rotterdam wool, and a version with 30% recycled wool mixed in from off-cuts of the Gelderland furniture factory. The same wool that was used for the felting, was made into an upholstery fabric for the grey version.

Flat printed tests were also conducted with a large selection of European wools and a selection with mixed in recycled fabrics from Gelderland.

Going forward, 100% European virgin wool is the main interest. Recycled wool can only be used in the future if fabric companies produce mono-wool fabrics without harmful dyes.

CREDITS: Prototypes made in collaboration with TFT - Tools for Technology, Havivank, shepherd Martin Oosthoek, Gelderland Design

COMISSIONED BY: Gemeente Rotterdam