You would think that two very different things would not have anything in common. But if you look closely enough, you can actually find similar characteristics in most things that are around us. Rock climbing and chairs are probably two things that are not associated with each other as the former is active while sitting is mostly associated with inertia and rest. But for designer Junho Kang, he was able to find a similarity so that the former inspired his design for the latter.
Designer:
When you’re rock climbing, you support your body weight just by using one or both of your hands. When you’re sitting on a chair, what’s supporting you are the legs. So in creating a design for a stool called “Cling”, Kang used the idea of the shape of the hands that are suspended between cracks in the rock wall that rock climbers go up in. Meanwhile, the seat is inspired by the irregular curves anad straight lines that you can see in the angular forms of the rock surfaces.
What you get is a steel stool that comes with a carabiner and rope, as if you’re going up a wall. But instead, you can rest on it and trust that it can hold your weight, just like you trust your hands when you go up that wall. The three legs of the Cling holds the sitter’s weight evenly while the seat has a soft triangular shape with three rounded seats. Both the legs and seat are made from stainless steel. The spaces between the fingers as you climb are a design feature as well.
The carabiner and rope are not there just for the aesthetic. There are two hoops on each of the legs to create a hanger so that you can hang objects on your chair. This means you can place things like a water bottle, a magazine, or a book (if you don’t mind hanging it on a rope). It doesn’t seem to be the most comfortable stool but if you need something to sit on that seems sturdy, and if you’re into the rock climbing aesthetic, then this is something that will interest you. Ultimately, Kang’s “Cling” stool serves as a compelling reminder that design inspiration can be found in the most unexpected places. By bridging the seemingly disparate worlds of rock climbing and furniture, he’s crafted a functional piece that not only supports the body but also sparks a conversation about the beauty of form and the power of observation.
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