Available in the colors black, white, basalt gray, signal gray and traffic red, “Land” is a multi-purpose seat that makes a clear statement not only outdoors, but also inside.
Photo: Plank

Balancing act

With the lounge chair “Land” for Plank, Naoto Fukasawa has created a versatile seat.

by Anna Moldenhauer | 11/8/2018

“I always try to create an archetype,” says Naoto Fukasawa. The latest design by the Japanese industrial designer is “Land” for Plank – an outdoor seat whose fluid shape combines the basic elements of a bench and a lounge chair. Fukasawa previously created the “Blocco” product family for the traditional Italian firm, where the focus was on the material wood. Fiberglass and rigid polyurethane foam were considered for realizing “Land,” while rotational molding proved to be the most suitable production method. This choice of production technology also influenced the evolution of the chair. Indeed, whereas in the original design the outer edges were at an angle at the point of transition between the seat and the backrest, they were much more fluid in the chair’s final design. With reduced outer lines and a highly expressive form, the designer explored the boundaries of what was possible using the selected method and, in the process, altered how the material is viewed.

For realizing “Land,” rotational molding proved to be the most suitable production method.
Photo: Plank

Whereas in the original design the outer edges were at an angle at the point of transition between the seat and the backrest, they were much more fluid in the chair’s final design.
Photo: Plank

With reduced outer lines and a highly expressive form, the designer explored the boundaries of what was possible using the selected method.
Photo: Plank

The slight backwards slope of the seat supports the back, making for greater comfort.
Photo: Plank

Naoto Fukasawa with "Land" in his studio in Tokyo.
Photo: Plank

“Land” lends itself to diverse uses: “You can sit in the middle, but also on the side. Moreover, you can simply lean against the backrest – the armchair offers numerous options,” says the designer. The slight backwards slope of the seat supports the back, making for greater comfort. Available in the colors black, white, basalt gray, signal gray and traffic red, “Land” is a multi-purpose seat that makes a clear statement not only outdoors, but also inside. The chair is light and versatile despite its generous proportions, being over one meter wide. The key to good design is to ask what makes people’s lives better, argues Naoto Fukasawa. Considering that they will use the product without giving it much thought, he continues, you have to create forms that match their living environments and enhance their lives. “Design can’t be subdivided into different categories, because life is a single category,” says Fukasawa. Planning has already begun on an upholstered version in order to enable “Land” to enrich indoor life to an even greater extent in future.