Collection by Allie Weiss

Digitally Fabricated Furniture by Dutch Designer Joris Laarman

Dutch designer Joris Laarman's futuristic furniture, on view at Friedman Benda gallery in New York through June 14, 2014, disrupts the traditional manufacturing model: Laarman's designs are digitally fabricated through a variety of methods, among them a robotic 3-D printer created by Laarman's lab. The results of these inventive structural techniques are designs with an otherworldly, highly sculptural effect—evident in pieces like his Maker chair, made from interlocking parts in a process likened to assembling a 3-D puzzle.

The public can customize Laarman's Maker chair (pictured here) by modifying the published blueprints of the chair, and also print it at home. Photo by Andrew Bovasso; courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
The public can customize Laarman's Maker chair (pictured here) by modifying the published blueprints of the chair, and also print it at home. Photo by Andrew Bovasso; courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
A sketch of the Maker chair. Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
A sketch of the Maker chair. Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
The molten stainless steel parts of the Dragon bench are printed mid-air using the MX3D printer that Laarman created. Photo by Andrew Bovasso; courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
The molten stainless steel parts of the Dragon bench are printed mid-air using the MX3D printer that Laarman created. Photo by Andrew Bovasso; courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
Laarman's MX3D printer reproduces the designer's doodles in space. An algorithmic system ensures that each design generated is unique. Photo courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
Laarman's MX3D printer reproduces the designer's doodles in space. An algorithmic system ensures that each design generated is unique. Photo courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
Laarman used digital algorithms to generate the aluminum Vortex Console and accompanying bookshelf. Photo by Andrew Bovasso; courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.
Laarman used digital algorithms to generate the aluminum Vortex Console and accompanying bookshelf. Photo by Andrew Bovasso; courtesy of Friedman Benda and Joris Laarman.