The "Alsacienne"
Wood

The traditional Alsatian chair, which appeared as early as the 17th century, can be recognized by its ornamented back, its sober seat and its divergent legs. The patterns on the backrest are not only decorative but also symbolic.

The contemporary chair is inspired by the style of this one. The choice is to highlight the different temporalities by the duality of the contemporary intervention with the traditional lines of the Alsatian. Thus, two of its legs are kept and the other two become a backrest by extending the vertical element which ends horizontally in the upper part to become an armrest or side table. A removable backrest is placed in the seat which keeps the dimensions of the reference chair. This large backrest has a black piece at the level of the seat to hold it in place.

The black wax is also found on a vertical piece of reinforcement of the armrest as well as on the two feet. This tint reinforces the disymmetry by identifying the elements regulating the balance and the wedges. Its metallic aspect contrasts with the wood material by its reflections and its light. Finally, each of the pieces has a square or third proportion to accentuate its visual harmony.

The majority of the pieces are cut on the panel saw, then for the planing, the boards go to the planer and the thicknesser. For the three-ply, we need 27 mm and 19 mm boards, in order to plane them by 2 and 4 mm respectively.

The seat and backrest require the plunge circular saw with a chisel and a jigsaw finish to make the oblique slots. For the legs, the seat needs to be routed in order to insert them. For the seat, a 30mm diameter hole saw creates the holes for the legs. The backrest wedge is cut with a table saw. The backrest is joined to the wedge with wood glue. Laying flat, they are maintained by clamps. The two pieces are drilled in their thickness to insert wood glue and 235x8mm dowels to solidify the whole. The legs are turned on a wood lathe; in order to go from a massive rectangular piece to a cylindrical one, an octagonal cut is made. The base, the two seat pieces, the armrest wedge and the armrest require the Lamello for type 10 slats.

Before assembly, each piece is sanded. The legs as well as the backrest and armrest wedges are waxed in black. During the assembly process, the clamps are regularly used to hold the parts in place during the drying process. The legs require a stress parameter, a previously machined frame. Circular polyamide pads are placed under the feet. Other rectangular pads are placed on both sides of the legs.