Dezeen School Shows: an ergonomic wooden chair with a Bauhaus-informed aesthetic is among the projects from the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Also featured is a bench crafted from wooden slats using a wet-bending technique, and a hand-crafted modular chair.

Estonian Academy of Arts

Institution: Estonian Academy of Arts
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander

School statement:

"In the annual Seating Furniture Studio at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), first-year architecture and interior architecture students design and build a full-scale functional chair using only a limited set of pre-cut wooden sticks and plywood.

"Each chair is both an object and a statement – demonstrating how minimal material can achieve maximum clarity, strength and expression.

"Together they form a manifesto of lightness: responsible choices, sustainable technologies and designs that unite comfort with a reduced carbon footprint.

"At Milan's SaloneSatellite 2026, EKA presents Manifesto of Lightness, an exhibition of ten chairs representing the decade of experimentation.

"The exhibition is curated by Ilkka Suppanen, one of Finland's most renowned contemporary designers and supervisor of the Seating Furniture Studio.

"Manifesto of Lightness can be found at Rho Fiera Milano, Pavilion 7, Booth A34, from 21 to 26 April.

"The Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) is the only public university in Estonia providing higher education in fine arts, design, architecture, media, visual studies, art history and conservation.

"Operating continuously since 1914, the university leverages a century of knowledge and craftsmanship to address the questions of tomorrow."

Chair from 2018 by Ra Martin Puhkan

"I built this chair strip by strip, layer by layer in my basement.

"I avoided creating a digital model so that the chair would retain the momentary decisions and choices, whose small irregularities give the object its uniqueness.

"In this way, I not only achieved an organic form, but the chair itself was also created by a series of on-the-spot judgments, making it more relatable and organic."

Student: Ra Martin Puhkan
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: ra.puhkan[at]artun.ee

Chair from 2022 by Karl Robin Timm

"In a world where everything is special, the mundane can attain an exceptional presence. This work is a small step toward the restoration of endangered qualities such as honesty and simplicity.

"It is a quintessential chair. No flashy lights, no questions, allowing you to allocate mental bandwidth for what really matters."

Student: Karl Robin Timm
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: karl.timm[at]artun.ee

Chair from 2022 by Alis Mäesalu

"My chair was born from the desire to create a comfortable seat using as little material as possible, following ergonomic principles to achieve both function and distinctiveness.

"Its simple lines and accent colours draw inspiration from Bauhaus and Mondrian.

"Mortise and tenon joints ensure durable, aesthetic connections, while brass screws echo the yellow accents for a playful finish.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​"

Student: Alis Mäesalu
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: alis.maesalu[at]artun.ee

Chair from 2024 by Madli Bulgarin

"The chair course was a great learning experience where I got acquainted with smart design in relation to carpentry's core values."

Student: Madli Bulgarin
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: madli.bulgarin.98[at]gmail.com

Chair from 2018 by Kristofer Soop

"Defined by clean lines and an inviting tactile quality, this bench is crafted from thin wooden slats, precision-bent through traditional wet-bending techniques.

"The primary challenge lay in achieving a striking aesthetic while adhering to the most minimalist design principles."

Student: Kristofer Soop
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: kristofer.soop[at]gmail.com

Chair from 2018 by Karolin Kull

"Making this chair felt like an exercise in intention through constraint. Every component is wood and all basic material dimensions are fixed from the beginning.

"Material and volumetric constraints push students to see and design beyond the physical object in their hands.

"The shape and form of this chair came from experimenting with empty space as much as with the wood itself."

Student: Karolin Kull
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: karolin.kull[at]gmail.com

Chair from 2023 by Linda Marie Zimmer

"I started calling it this design the Blindfold chair, because of the black textile backrest.

"Leaning into its character, the chair has extended "hands" to feel around in the dark. "

Student: Linda Marie Zimmer
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: linda.zimmer[at]artun.ee

Chair from 2022 by Madis Arp Keerd

"The Temple for Hilma af Klint is a colourful piece of paper architecture. This chair aims to be likewise.

"With carefully picked colours and 'L'profile details, this chair combines the happiness of a childish imagination and the seriousness of steel manufacturing."

Student: Madis Arp Keerd
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: madis.keerd[at]artun.ee

Chair from 2022 by Kadri Kallaste

"Crafted by hand from plywood, this chair comes apart into two pieces. Wherever you reassemble it is where rest begins.

"The chair's form was found in stillness, in the particular angle of a body at ease.

"The structure draws from another era's obsession with nature made geometric: the interwoven grid of Jugendstil furniture."

Student: Kadri Kallaste
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: info[at]kadrikallaste.com

Chair from 2022 by Sander Haugas

"The chair began as a graphic piece, a composition of poetic lines that make up a solid load-bearing frame.

"What reads as a drawing becomes a structure. There are no hidden joints. Every line is exposed and accountable, the construction is only intact because everything vector has its counter-vector.

"For an architect, this is a familiar ground: the moment a drawing stops being a representation and becomes a thing responsible for itself.

"The composition of the chair didn't come from a calculation, it was an intuitive game. However, the intuition has its roots in trigonometry."

Student: Sander Haugas
Course: Seating Furniture Studio
Tutors: Ilkka Suppanen, Yrjö Wiherheimo and Martin Relander
Email: sander.haugas[at]artun.ee

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Estonian Academy of Arts. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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