Saga’s Transat, a Suspension-Based Outdoor Chair

This unusual outdoor chair was designed by Loic Cao, Tanguy Caversaccio and Lola Jutzeler, of Swiss architecture firm SAGA. The Transat is a fixed piece of street furniture developed with Vitra and the Chair of Landscape Architecture at ETH Zurich, installed in the Botanical Garden of Lausanne. Its minimalist structure, straight lines, taut geometry, remains a sculpture until the user hangs a fabric on it, transforming the object into a seat and introducing a “living” curve in direct dialogue with the landscape. The structural design is inspired by railway infrastructure (gantries, catenary systems): a seat suspended by two pre-stressed metal cables (Jakob AG, Grison) that refines the presence of the frame. The fabric is interchangeable and attaches with Velcro, a nod to an invention born from the observation of plants. Stainless steel structure made at the Vallorbe forge (Iron Museum) by Julien Favre.