3DP Applications

A Piece of History – The first one-piece SLS 3D printed chair earns its place in Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum's collection

We’ve featured many cases of 3D printing tech being used in the museum setting – mostly 3D mapping of their featured pieces – in order to recreate classic sculptures and other works of art in the world outside the institutions’ walls as well. The results from the collaborations between 3D printer operators and museums has not only benefited the re-creators, but also the museums themselves who have, in some cases, received additions to their collections that they would have never otherwise had the chance to have. Most of these collaborative efforts between the generative and the preserving world have been all about the art itself, but in today’s case it’s all about the technology, as it seems that 3D printing has already gained enough relevance and momentum to rightfully earn its place within the collection itself.

Stedelijk museum, located in the capital of the Netherlands, has acquired French designer Patrick Jouin’s Solid C2 chair into its collection. The complex-structured place to enjoy some off-leg time is the first of its kind, as the Stedelijk’s curator of industrial design Ingeborg de Roode explained: “The Solid chair was the first furniture piece made with the SLS technique in one piece. It clearly shows the possibilities of this technique to make very complicated structures.” The origins of the chair date back to 2004, when Jouin designed and 3D printed the multi-ribbon piece with digital manufacturing company .MGX by Materialise, who specialize in 3D printed interior design pieces and jewellery.

The museum hosts other interesting pieces – from Jouin as well – which you can appreciate even without traveling to Amsterdam. The institution’s collection can also be browsed via their online collection.

Source: Dezeen