The Lo Res Chair was designed with the aid of specialized software that re-designs existing objects and reshapes them to new modernized versions of their former figure. In the case of Lo Res Chair, the basis was the iconic Panton Chair which was designed by Verner Panton for Vitra in the 60’s.
Interestingly the Lo Res process was developed by United Nude which is best known for their innovative shoes. The Lo Res method includes digitizing an object through three-dimensional scanning. Then, the three-dimensional shape of the object is depicted on a computer and through special software the object’s resolution is lowered (making the object more pixelated) and a Low-Resolution version of the initial item is created, hence the name “Lo Res”.
The result is a form that has the basic structure of the original object, but consists of many flat surfaces connected in a strongly angular shape. The Lo Res Chair is based on a classic piece of industrial design which was successfully restructured into a new object that maintains its classic character while incorporating a strong element of futurism. Each chair is hand molded and comes standard in a matte silver or matte black finish. But you can also have it custom finished to your liking.
The Lo Res Project began a few years ago by architect Rem D Koolhaas (also United Nude’s co-founder and Creative Director) and Iddo Zimmerman. It is essentially a method of semi-automatic design, a process of recreating objects and it bridges the digital with the material world. Their idea is a way to “celebrate and recycle” design that already exists, as well as to create new designs. So far they have created the Low Res Chair, a shoe, a wine glass, a statue, a champagne glass, a bottle case, a martini glass, a lowball glass and a Lamborghini Countach.
