The Interval Chair
Design by: Trần Hoàng Long

Introduction

Long Trần is a Vietnamese industrial designer whose work revolves around exploring the relationship between structure, materials, and cultural memory. He does not view furniture as finished objects, but as frameworks waiting to be examined, disassembled, and reconfigured. Curiosity plays a central role in his practice. Each design is an experiment in how materials respond to one another when placed in different contexts and states. This experimentation is not meant to create unusual forms, but to discover the moment when structure begins to express emotion, when material carries a story that goes beyond its function.

Experience working with international brands has helped the designer develop a rigorous understanding of production, form feasibility, and commercial language. Yet the core of his practice remains the reinterpretation of familiar architectural typologies found in Vietnamese culture and everyday life. These structures are not merely aesthetic symbols, but embodiments of balance between community and space, between weight and openness. His designs do not aim to replicate heritage, but to continue its spirit through a contemporary vocabulary.

“The Interval” began as a study of structure and void. By shifting the axis of the bracing element, the designer created a hollow space that allows the seat to appear as if it were floating in midair, achieving a delicate equilibrium between suspension and weight.

The design draws from architectural frameworks rather than conventional furniture standards. Beneath its quiet composition lies a strict logic: steel for reinforcement, wood for shaping, and leather for warmth. The folds along the backrest and the edge of the seat mirror each other, creating rhythm and continuity. At the same time, the curved fold of the seat is an experiment in the behavior of steel when pushed into an uncommon form. This detail both echoes the softness of the backrest and ensures comfort for the user.

When the seat is removed, the frame recalls the truss systems of Vietnamese communal houses: raw, sturdy, and full of breathing space. “The Interval” expresses the poetic nature of traditional structural logic in a contemporary language, where structure tells the story and the void becomes an active presence.

Materials: Wood, leather