The assignment was to design and build a seating piece in wood, where the only constraint was that the piece had to remain within the dimensions of 50×50×50 cm. The task was to explore the material’s properties and the possibilities of form within these limitations. The stool is hollow and it stands upright due to a steel ballast placed in the bottom inside the piece.

The form is constructed out of 17 pieces of birch wood cut and shaped to form a superellipsoid. Due to the shape of the wall pieces, the form also shows the beautiful growth rings of the birch wood. Pelota is an interactive piece that explores shape, materials and physics in a fun and compelling way.