Initially Heatherwick chose to work around the idea of a large scale blown vessel over-reaching the normal perception of an object and steering it towards furniture. ‘The sheer volume and mass of each component of the three forms that make up his chair exemplify the fluid natural forms produced by hand made glass at a scale that, even after all my years of working with glass, is quite awe inspiring.’ says project manager Simon Moore.

The glass thickness required for a chair is considerably more than that for a vase if it is to be able to support a person. Another critical consideration is also ensuring sufficient thickness at the right place for the cut and polishing of the structural points where the base, seat and back will be joined.

Each blown component that makes up the chair is entirely hand blown. It is so large and demanding that 2 or 3 Maestros are needed to work together simultaneously. After cooling down the Maestros in the Moleria (cutting workshop) are in charge of cutting and polishing the pieces and in this case the polished angles are crucial to be able to assemble an ergonomically shaped chair, a wrong angle resulting in a mistaken shape. The three pieces are assembled using a UV-adhesive that cures in seconds upon exposure to ultra violet light.