Gavari Airline Seat
Emerging application: custom aircraft interiors built with FDM
"FDM makes it possible to play more with forms, to combine complicated forms, to create something you’ve never seen before."
— Gerda Hopfgartner, Gavari
- See more at: http://www.stratasys.com/ddm-group/end-use-parts/gavari-airline-seat#sthash.0ilLX16E.dpufUncompromising Innovation
A good design is simple in a smart way, says Gerda Hopfgartner, founder of Gavari design studio in Vienna. And sometimes being smart involves challenging what most people take for granted. Why should an airplane seat look and feel like an airplane seat? When you throw out old conventions rooted in traditional large-scale manufacturing, you make room for comfort and good aesthetics.
Most airline seats forgo ergonomics, trapping passengers in cramped, unhealthy quarters for hours, even on long-haul flights. “I want to revolutionize the way people experience their journey,” says Hopfgartner. “So my goal was to create something elegant and new.”
Hopfgartner’s mind opened when she discovered aviation’s past. Early airplane seats were ordinary wicker chairs, brought into the cabin and bolted down. “This made me see everything in a different way. I tried to take all existing forms out of my head to create something special,” she says.
The result seems of the future: an ergonomic seat with a smooth, elegant appearance. Hopfgartner calls it a second skin for the body, with adjustable parts. The designer wants the seat itself to relax and comfort the passenger.
Hopfgartner refuses to restrain the creative process with traditional manufacturability concerns. “You can always find a way to manufacture a good design,” she says. “FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) makes it possible to play more with forms, to combine complicated forms together, to create something unique you’ve never seen before — artful or customized pieces.”
The seat’s clean design provides a blank canvas for customization. Hopfgartner says private-jet owners could embellish each seat with a three-dimensional logo, or even transform the whole FDM surface with a signature faux texture, such as quilting for a handbag maker’s corporate jet. Because additive manufacturing allows each part to be customized, individual arm rests, head rests or even whole seats could come in custom sizes and shapes, and integrate names or titles directly into the build.
Brilliant designs like Hopfgartner’s could help give passengers a memorable journey. “It should be a special moment, because you are flying,” she says.
http://www.stratasys.com/ddm-group/end-use-parts/gavari-airline-seat
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