Copy-tiam Chair

2012 / Editions

Material
1.7MB of virtual space

As with the robust scent of coffee, kaya toasts and runny eggs, the kopitiam chair is synonymous to the nostalgia of coffee shops in Singapore. It is an archetype ingrained in local identity, yet its roots stem from it being an appropriation of the widely popular Thonet chair No.14 designed in 19th century Europe, where furniture merchants dealing in Singapore replicated its bentwood construction, and eventually its success.

COPY-TIAM CHAIR articulates the blurred boundary between authenticity and originality by capturing and democratizing the drawings for the kopitiam chair. With this detailed blueprint, anyone may freely reproduce a quintessential Singapore icon which may not be entirely original, but is certainly genuinely authentic.

{This work was part of a project organised by Singapore Funiture Industries Council for SingaPlural 2012, inviting designers to re-inteprete the local Kopitiam Chair.}

Download Copy-tiam Chair for Free (pdf)