Sillon W
Sillon W is a minimalist armchair created by Mexico City-based designer Oscar Wade. The piece emerged from a specific architectural problem – anchoring a reception area’s minimalist void with something substantial enough to command presence without overwhelming the space. This design challenge led to an exploration of how a single continuous line could reference modernist furniture history while creating something distinctly contemporary. The solution lies in walnut plywood pushed to its structural limits, forming curves that transition into precise ninety-degree angles with an engineering rigor that borders on obsession.
The technical achievement centers on coaxing plywood into shapes it naturally resists. Walnut veneer laminations bend easily along gentle arcs, but forcing them into sharp right angles while maintaining visual continuity requires understanding exactly where wood fiber will split versus compress. The backrest demonstrates this tension most clearly – a fifty-nine-centimeter panel folded at nearly ninety degrees to nestle into the seat pan creates a geometry that feels both inevitable and impossible. This is not the organic flowing form of mid-century plywood experiments by Charles and Ray Eames or Alvar Aalto, but rather a harder-edged interpretation that acknowledges both that legacy and contemporary manufacturing precision.
Material contrasts amplify the formal rigor. Dark walnut plywood reads as architectural and unyielding, its visible grain patterns creating subtle movement across otherwise stark surfaces. Against this, heavy-weave textile upholstery introduces softness not just visually but through actual tactile experience. Twelve-centimeter cushions filled with high-density foam provide genuine comfort rather than symbolic gesture – a recognition that furniture meant to invite lingering cannot sacrifice ergonomics to aesthetics. The cotton-polyester blend in the prototype suggests adaptability across contexts, whether that eventually means wool for residential warmth or leather for commercial durability.
The dimensional generosity reinforces this invitation to occupy space. A sixty-centimeter seat width and fifty-two-centimeter depth accommodate bodies comfortably, while fifteen-centimeter armrests frame the sitter without confinement. These proportions situate Sillón W somewhere between lounge seating and reception furniture – substantial enough for extended sitting yet formal enough for semi-public environments.
Exposed stainless steel Allen screws make the assembly methodology visible rather than concealed. This constructional honesty aligns with a broader design philosophy where materiality and manufacturing process remain legible in the finished object. The screws function practically while also serving as punctuation marks that emphasize how components join – backrest to seat, frame to upholstery. It is a vocabulary borrowed from industrial design where fasteners become details rather than apologies.