Jarrod Lim's outdoor sun lounge steals the show at FIND Design Fair Asia

The EMERGE showcase by DesignSingapore Council is an exciting opportunity for emerging and established designers around the region to submit their work and participate in the industry-leading event, FIND Design Fair Asia.

This year, Suzy Annetta returned as curator with the evocative theme ‘CRAFT + INDUSTRY: MAN + MACHINE,’ a theme which designer Jarrod Lim says he felt especially drawn to in the design of his outdoor timber chair.

“Since the beginning of my career, I’ve always taken great inspiration from examining production and manufacturing processes and melding them with intuitive, human qualities to create my designs,” explains Lim. “The concepts and realisation of my designs have often been borne from the interaction between man and machine.”

Lim found himself drawn to the opulent figure of the Peacock Chair, an iconic symbol of South-East Asian design. Captivated by its shape, Lim opted to experiment with American hardwood timber rather than the traditional wicker – selecting a thermally modified American red oak supplied by Omega Mas (Surabaya, Indonesia).

“With the peacock chair, the base and backrest are quite separate,” says Lim. “I followed the idea of a box and backrest but wanted to look at how to better integrate it. It is not that difficult in terms of construction, but it is difficult to make it look balanced”.

Thermally modified timber (TMT) has been around for a long time; even ancient Vikings recognised its benefits. The process of subjecting wood to a high-intensity kiln schedule for about three to four days induces physical and chemical changes in the timber. This yields two main benefits: improved stability with the reduction of moisture, and enhanced durability through the removal of substances which attract wood-destroying fungi.

According to Lim, the slatted design which gives the chair its signature aesthetic character was actually not a part of the original concept for the chair. “Originally, I planned to create a solid chair without slats but it just didn’t look right. It looked extremely top-heavy and intersection of the backrest and the base, aesthetically, didn’t work. By adding the slats and working with the grain of the wood I was able to ensure the lines of the backrest progress down through the seat, right to the base. These small decisions were deliberately made to ensure the aesthetic works.”

The resulting ‘Sun Lounge’ speaks to the little details which unify a conceptual design. With the durability to withstand the humidity, heat, moisture and sun of a South-East Asian context, the Sun Lounge brings superior comfort and longevity to outdoor environments around the continent.