Impala Project
Koa armchair
A sculptural armchair in sustainably harvested Formosan koa, created with Waveaffects in Hsinchu. CNC-milled components were refined by hand to reveal the wood's flowing figure, forming a horn-like back and arms that suggest a young impala's poise.
Form exploration
Led variants; tuned seat/back angles; built small wood mockups to verify stability.
Material preparation
Prepared koa: month-long boiling to relieve stresses; designed koa-specific joinery; set up custom plywood molds for 5-axis CNC.
Machining & assembly
CNC-milled four components (seat, back, arms, legs); master artisans hand-sanded, oiled, and assembled for final fit.
- Challenges1/2
Hidden stresses in koa caused cracking on early cuts. Revised boiling schedule and mold geometry. CNC toolpaths fought the wood's rigidity. Reprogrammed passes and slowed feeds for clean surfaces.
- Insights2/2
Schedule material conditioning and stress tests before machining; koa needs more time than hardwoods we'd used prior. Best results came when CNC precision set the geometry and hand finishing restored the organic flow.
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