Malte Lundberg designs all-wooden alternative to technical office chairs
As part of Stockholm Design Days, Swedish designer Malte Lundberg is exhibiting an ergonomic desk chair made entirely from wood, all the way down to the giant spiralling screw used to adjust the seat height.
Lundberg developed the Silas chair in collaboration with Swedish furniture brand Stolab as part of his studies at Stockholm's Beckmans College of Design.
Whereas most adjustable task chairs use metal and plastic for their various mechanical components, the designer set out to demonstrate that even these functions can be achieved using wood.
"I wanted to make an office chair for the home," he told Dezeen. "Because I see a trend where people don't want to have really technical office chairs in a domestic context."
"I tried to make an all-wooden project and also integrate sculptural forms into what is typically quite a strict, technical category."
The entire chair is made from birch wood, chosen for its light colour, which lends the piece a clean and simple aesthetic.
To provide comfort without the need for upholstery, Lundberg used Stolab's CNC mill to create ergonomic yet sculptural forms for the back and seat.
"The backrest, for example, is designed with a curved shape so it presses on the muscles rather than the backbone," he explained.
The giant screw mechanism used to adjust the seat height turned out to be the most challenging part to realise in timber.
Due to prohibitive tooling costs, Lundberg ended up lathe-turning the bolt to millimeter precision, which he said proved "insanely hard", while the corresponding nut in the base of the chair was 3D-printed from plastic as a proof of concept.
If production was scaled up and Stolab invested in special parts, Lundberg says both the nut and bolt could both be made using existing CNC milling technology.
The same is true for the chair's hand-carved slotted stem, featuring notches and a simple peg fixing that can be used to alter the height of the organically shaped backrest.
The versatile chair can be used at a desk, in a studio or at a dining table as an alternative to more utilitarian options designed primarily for office environments.
Lundberg said he hopes the chair will spark joy and curiosity, "almost like a small character that keeps you company throughout the day".
Silas is currently on show as part of Process, Material, Craft – an exhibition of student work from Stockholm's three major design schools during Stockholm Design Days.
The impromptu festival was conceived to fill the hole left by the Stockholm Furniture Fair and its associated design week, which were cancelled this year.
Other highlights from this year's unofficial event include lamps made from unwanted glassware, an exhibition of Josef Frank cabinets and a showcase of emerging Swedish designers.
Process, Material, Craft is on show from 3 to 7 February 2026 at MDT Moderna Dansteatern as part of Stockholm Design Days. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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