American designer Victor Vetterlein took inspiration from skateboards to complete his design of an extremely thin stacking chair using a wood and carbon fiber lamination process.

The chair, named X-Federation, after its distinctive x-shaped backrest, was all too flimsy when Vetterlein initially started the project where he was using only painted black, laminated wood. After a little bit of research and some pondering, he found himself watching skateboarders one day and wondering how the boards, made out of wood, could withstand the massive wear and tear.

When he dug a little deeper into his research, he learned that most skateboard deck manufacturers actually apply a thin layer of carbon fiber to the boards, during lamination. So he applied this process to the X-Federation and voilà. With carbon fibers light-weight and super strong durability, Vetterlein had sucessfully built a superstrong chair. Using cheap material and adding in a bit of high-end carbon fiber, was the perfect solution for Vetterleins problem. Maybe more designers and builders will start playing off the idea of using multiple materials, to help keep cost down.

Victor Vetterlein plans to start the production of the X-Federation later on this year.

[Source: Fast Co. Design]