Japanese studio AtMa Inc has created an unconventional seating collection by reassembling parts of Danish designer Børge Mogensen’s revered J39 chair.
AtMa Inc named the collection J39.5 to reference the original chair, which Mogensen created for furniture brand Frederica in 1947 and has since become a design classic, appreciated for its simple, Shaker-style appearance.
AtMa Inc’s seating collection is made from the parts of damaged J39 chairs
Studio’s founders Makoto Suzuki and Ayumi Koyama decided to create the collection after visiting a furniture warehouse in 2021where they stumbled upon a J39 that was missing a leg and had a cracked backrest.
Rather than attempting to restore the chair back to its original state, which wouldn’t have been cost effective, they chose to create a new type of seat from the broken chair.
The studio reassembled the chair parts into unusual shapes
It took AtMa Inc a further four years to source enough J39’s that were damaged beyond repair to make a total of 10 seats, with the help of woodworking specialists.
“Through the process of reassembling parts, we came to appreciate just how robust the construction of these chairs is, and how the strength and precision of the materials allow them to be used without issue even after more than 50 years – this reaffirmed for us the importance of reusing such materials,” said the studio.
The usable parts that could be yielded from each J39 would vary widely, and as a result the studio’s designs all differ in form. One of the seats, for example, has a criss-cross base made from two sets of J39 legs that have been flipped upside down and fixed together.
There’s also a chair composed of three adjoining backrests, and another seat that has a backrest attached to its side to serve as a small side table.
Any chair parts which weren’t used were ground down and turned into paper cord
Chair parts that couldn’t be salvaged were chipped, pulped, and turned into paper, then twisted into cord – much like the one that was used to weave the seats of the original J39.
The cord was used throughout the making process of J39.5, and AtMa Inc is aiming to find more applications for it in the future.
“We hope to collaborate with a variety of partners to further refine paper production and create ‘paper with a story, made from furniture’, which we believe will open up new possibilities,” the studio explained.
“In today’s world, overflowing with objects and facing various environmental issues, this project carries a message about the importance of cherishing a single object and engaging deeply with its materials.”
The cord has been woven into AtMa Inc’s designs
AtMa Inc’s J39.5 chairs are shortlisted in the collectible design category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
Other contenders include a series of timber objects based on childhood memories of the elderly, and an organically-shaped cabinet that resembles the bark of a tree.
The photography is by Shunsuke Watanabe.
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