The folding chair designed like a skeleton

This article was previously published on Domus 1106, November 2025.

“The role of the designer shifts. He no longer dictates a form but creates the conditions for its emergence. The software becomes a partner, a co-author.” Patrick Jouin sees technology as a means of expanding creative possibilities. This conviction has led him to experiment with 3D printing for over 20 years. This year, that tireless research has spawned Ta.Tamu, an evolution of Tamu – the art of folding things, in Japanese – created in 2019 in collaboration with Anne Asensio and the Dassault Systèmes team. Similar to a set of interconnected bones and joints, its slender, skeletal, monobloc structure is extremely flexible – it can fold in on itself – yet can support loads of up to 100 kilos. It is composed of 23 elements, which are 3D printed in the folded position using polymer powder sintering, and are connected by 33 joints, whose tolerance has been refined so that they do not fuse during manufacturing and guarantee instant freedom of movement. The material is only present where it is structurally necessary, with the software precisely measuring the required amount before printing, reducing waste and increasing lightness.