The aim of this project was to up-cycle previously discarded materials into a new functional form. As a longtime rock climber, I have many retired ropes that are no longer safe for climbing, and I used them to create unique outdoor chairs.
Climbing ropes are designed to be dynamic, allowing a certain amount of stretching to softly catch a fall. This made them perfect as a sitting surface that deforms to the shape of the person sitting the chair.
I created digital prototypes of the design in Rhino, using Grasshopper to parametrically model the paths the ropes would take once wound around the frame. This gave me flexibility to experiment with many different forms before deciding on a final design to fabricate.
