PLACEMAT GLACIER RACING SEAT
Date:
February 2021
Time Frame:
2 weeks
Medium:
CAD
Inspiration can be had from the strangest places, and this chair is a great example. Completed as part of a series of (4) different projects surrounding the premise of designing an entire product base on a single, unrelated photo, this chair was derived from a single picture of a glass coffee table, area rug, light reflection, and a TV remote. That picture is included in the below gallery.
This chair's structure consists of a transparent glass shell, a single underside carbon fiber 'rib' that spans its entire length, and dynamic seat pads. These dynamic seat pads, of which there are 7, are designed to actively counteract forces put on the passengers of a vehicle when taken around corners at high speeds.
The seat pads, independent on left and right sides, lift up and move forward at varying amounts in different locations, contouring and actively supporting the side of someone that is being pulled towards the inside or outside of a car by G-force. This may prevent a passenger from having to brace themselves against the car door or footwell, and it may also eliminate the need for obnoxious racing seats in cars that are only driven on the street or used for occasional racing.
A heavy glass-shelled seat like this isn't designed for a purebred racecar. However, because of the rigid reinforced glass shell taking the place of a typical stamped steel frame, this could end up a similar weight to most modern luxury automotive seats which are extremely heavy. This glass shell may be more practical constructed of coated Lexan, but having been inspired by a glass coffee table, we are sticking with glass for this project. Additionally, glass always has a certain elegance and hardness that can never be replicated by plastic.
This rib also houses a full-length RGBW light that can be used as active and ambient lighting in the car, and can apply both direct lighting, and diffused lighting through the glass shell. When used in conjunction with the vehicle's other interior lighting, this seat's lighting can have a crucial role in setting the atmosphere, or 'mood', in the car.
