As professional journalists, we all have our fair share of hits and misses. Sometimes, we break a story, and other times, we follow up on what was missed. One such thing I missed recently was the PolarisGo limited-edition chair, which has bewildered me with its remarkable blend of art, science, and space innovation.
Fast Company first carried the story on the PolarisGo Chair. The chair was inspired by the Polaris Dawn mission, the first of three human spaceflights under the Polaris Program, launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in 2024. The mission, led by Jared Isaacman, achieved the highest Earth orbit ever flown, conducting experiments to understand the effects of spaceflight and radiation on human health. So, what does the space mission have to do with a furniture piece?
In an exclusive interview with designboom, Ross Lovegrove, the designer behind the project, revealed that he had access to the Polaris Dawn flight data and used it for his design. “I have taken this data and translated it into a frequency that is passed through the frame of the GO Chair, creating four distinct polarized focus points in each corner of the seat.”
For those who didn’t get the context, the PolarisGo Chair is a reimagining of Lovegrove’s iconic Go Chair, first unveiled in 2001. Originally crafted in aluminum, the Go Chair was deemed too heavy, prompting Lovegrove to seek a lighter material while preserving its anatomical, fluid lines. This led the designer to collaborate with Audi’s advanced engineering unit in Ingolstadt. Here, Lovegrove utilized injected magnesium, a material known for its use in aerospace and automotive industries, such as lightweight car wheels. This innovative approach reduced the chair’s weight by 30 percent, resulting in a seat that is both malleable and exceptionally strong.
But, again, where does this space thing come from? To break it down, the main surface of the chair, or shall I say the seat to be specific, has ripples resembling the shockwaves from the space mission data. The seat is adorned with ripples mimicking these shockwaves that converge at the center to honour the four astronauts of the Polaris Dawn mission. The names of the astronauts are laser-etched into each corner, forging a strong connection to this historic event.
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This data-driven design process, as noted by Fast Company, results in a piece that is “both a functional object and a piece of memorabilia,” embodying the mission’s pioneering spirit. “These four points then radiate waves that are arrested three dimensionally as they converge in the center of the seat pan and translated into a pressed metal alloy which becomes strengthened by the tessellated surface,” Lovegrove explains.
Concerning design, Lovegrove has left the rear part of the chair open. As per Lovegrove, this design hack not only allows ventilation but also mimics the shape of the windows around the aircraft used for the Polaris Dawn space mission, hence giving the mission a fitting tribute. With only 210 units produced, this chair is a premium collectible, available for pre-order through CreativeWorkStudios’ website.
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