Four-Board Perching Stool
Fall 2025
Class project
The goal of this project was to create the most functional and visually appealing stool to support a "perched" seating position while working within the narrow design and material constraints: the whole object is fabricated form a single 5’ board of polar and fabricated only with saws and a router, every piece joined as right angles. The stool maintains strength and rigidity while reaching a height appropriate for an active perch. The fabrication of the stool was an exercise in precision and simple joinery, its integrity relying on the accuracy of each and every cut, sanding and adjustments kept to a bare minimum.
Process
To begin ideation, a series of quarter scale foamcore models were made. I aimed to maximize height using the 5-foot board, so I made sure my starting piece of foam was to scale to properly predict the height of the stool.
I decided on a general design which used a long back board to create a good height. I split one full-width board into two: one to act as a foot to maintain a shallow tilt, and the other a rib to tie the foot to the seat and maintain rigidity.
Once the design direction was chosen, a full-scale cardboard model was made to test integrity and proportion. Creating the full-scale model helped reveal some structural weaknesses in the initial design which were not fully evident in the quarter-scale models.
Following testing, the rib piece was adjusted to run through the foot piece to increase structural integrity. This new configuration also allowed for slight allowance in the length of the rib as it no longer had to sit flush to the foot.
Once the design was finalized, techincal drawings were drfated in Solidworks to refernce measurements during the fabrication process.
Before moving to fabrication, shop drawings were made to plan out each step in the process. This planning step demonstrates to those in charge of the shop that a thought-through plan exists to craft the stool before a tool is used. This approach helps avoid mistakes and safety mishaps and ensures precision.
Gallery
