J39.5
by AtMa inc.
J39.5 is a series of chairs made up of reassembled parts of the J39 chair designed by Borge Mogensen.
It all started when we came across a J39 with a missing leg and a cracked backrest at a vintage furniture warehouse. There were some damaged J39s that were difficult to repair because of cost, time, and effort. We decided to take them back, as we felt that we could create new value for them. With respect to Mogensen who redesigned the Shaker chair to create the J39, we redesigned it as a change of mindset, not adding new materials but reassembling only the remaining parts and adding 0.5 design.
The new ideas gained through the design process led to a more active relationship with the furniture, finding new value in objects that had lost their value and function, and triggering thinking about sustainability in furniture. Also, aiming for a more sustainable approach, we are working on material circulation. The broken leg or back are crushed into powder, which is then strained into original paper and twisted into paper cord. The legs are turned into the seat - material changed the form, but still make up the same chair.
AtMa inc. is a creative studio established by Makoto Suzuki, an interior designer, and Ayumi Koyama, an artist. The studio has three axes - client work such as; interiors, products, installations, creative directions, and self-initiated projects on social issues, and also running their own space, COM - each feed into the other and enable them to investigate deeper exploration and multiple perspectives. Currently working on material experiments related to self-initiated projects.
