Umberto Onza Designs
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The Virén Chair - Recycled CIRCO -plastics

The self-rising Viren Chair is inspired by a Finnish long-distance runner Lasse Viren, who fell in the middle of the 10,000 meters final at the Munich Olympics in 1972. The odds were not in his favor, but he got up, won gold, and set a new world re

The self-rising Viren Chair is inspired by a Finnish long-distance runner Lasse Viren, who fell in the middle of the 10,000 meters final at the Munich Olympics in 1972. The odds were not in his favor, but he got up, won gold, and set a new world record.

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The key is the location of the center of gravity point in relation to the chair geometry.T he unique chair design, the weight geometry and the raising arm shape are all iterated in the design process to force the chair raise after it falls.

The key is the location of the center of gravity point in relation to the chair geometry.T he unique chair design, the weight geometry and the raising arm shape are all iterated in the design process to force the chair raise after it falls.

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The Viren Chair is made from Fortum Circo® recycled plastic compounds, where cellulose fiber has been included to strengthen the material and reduce its carbon footprint.

The Viren Chair is made from Fortum Circo® recycled plastic compounds, where cellulose fiber has been included to strengthen the material and reduce its carbon footprint.

A lot of mechanical and non mechanical concepts designs were created and tested to find the best solution for the lifting feature.

A lot of mechanical and non mechanical concepts designs were created and tested to find the best solution for the lifting feature.

The chairs design language is intended to honor Lasse Virén’s legacy with a design that is both aerodynamic and organic and takes its inspiration from running motion.

The chairs design language is intended to honor Lasse Virén’s legacy with a design that is both aerodynamic and organic and takes its inspiration from running motion.

The prototype was 3D printed using CIRCO CF -30 (PP) material and Large Scale FDM technology. Also SLA and SLS printing technology was used to make quick adjustments for various pieces to speed up the iteration process. To ensure the durability of

The prototype was 3D printed using CIRCO CF -30 (PP) material and Large Scale FDM technology. Also SLA and SLS printing technology was used to make quick adjustments for various pieces to speed up the iteration process.

To ensure the durability of the 3D printed lifting arm they were laminated with carbon fiber and fiberglass sheets.

The overall design process took about 11 months and a lot of iterations and tests to get the weight and shape to work with the self-rising feature. The self-rising functionality of the Viren chair is based on CAD simulations as well as simultaneous

The overall design process took about 11 months and a lot of iterations and tests to get the weight and shape to work with the self-rising feature.

The self-rising functionality of the Viren chair is based on CAD simulations as well as simultaneous design and development.

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Custom designed set of injection molded material texture chips features 16 different colors including Circo® -natural grey - showing the difference between rough, matt and natural surfaces. Each of the colors in the palette is formulated specificall

Custom designed set of injection molded material texture chips features 16 different colors including Circo® -natural grey - showing the difference between rough, matt and natural surfaces. Each of the colors in the palette is formulated specifically to work with CIRCO.

Chair body weight: 7.0 kg/15.4 lbs - Steel Weight: 9.6 kg/20.9 lbs - Max load: 120 kg / 264.5 lbs

Chair body weight: 7.0 kg/15.4 lbs - Steel Weight: 9.6 kg/20.9 lbs - Max load: 120 kg / 264.5 lbs

The chair celebrates the 50th anniversary of the legendary achievement in Munich by Lasse Virén and pays respect to Finnish plastic furniture design developed in the 1960s by Finnish designers.

The chair celebrates the 50th anniversary of the legendary achievement in Munich by Lasse Virén and pays respect to Finnish plastic furniture design developed in the 1960s by Finnish designers.

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