Launched in 2012, the Chairshop was the brainchild of Principal Emeritus Jeff Riley. He created an opportunity for architects to design their own chair and receive instruction from our resident craftsmen – Patrick McCauley, Bill Rutan, and Ron Campbell – on the techniques and skills to construct it.

More than 20 participants in the Chairshop have incorporated bent shapes, carvings and engravings, laminations, veneers, mortise and tenon joinery, glues and screws, fabrics and weavings, and finishes of paint, varnish, shellac, oil, and wax to create their chairs. They use sketches, renderings, watercolors, computer drawings, maquettes, scale models, mockups, and prototypes to refine their design and test its components for strength, comfort, durability, beauty, and constructability.

The completed chairs are placed throughout Centerbrook’s 19th century factory offices for posterity, and for use. They have become beloved around here and we are excited to have this opportunity to bring them to a broader audience!