Thanks all for the feedback,...
Thanks all for the feedback, its very much appreciated. It is how one grows as a designer.
In defence of some of the comments. While I know there is certainly some influence from the Eames Aluminum Group pieces, I feel it is hard to design anything with a MCM slant without drawing some comparison to a piece of Eames work.
The chair itself was influence by the design of a wheelchair I previously worked on: http://lowe9.com/index.php?/industrial/crosstrainer-wheelchair/
The project had a set of technical requirements in order to properly locate the centre of gravity of the chair. The frame was also designed for die casting, instead of the traditional tube bending and manual welding of most wheelchairs. The overall form of the of the aluminium components was also dictated by maintaining required draft angles for the casting process.
The antler chair grew from the frame design of the CrossTrainer wheelchair. Once again I had to style the frame in such a way that it would have a clean parting line with solid draft angles (even though this chair is just a concept, in my opinion it is not industrial design unless one has actually considered how to mass produce the design)
The Eames aluminium group furniture has a certain lightness to it, whereas my frame is decidedly heavier. The Eames' designs feature armrests that bolt to the chair that are much more compact; the Antler chair integrates the entire armrest support into the frame. The "antler" itself is a requirement of the manufacturing process- it would be impossible to produce the chair in one casting. Thus the chair is split into components that have to be joined together by a cross member. The design of the crossmember is intended to integrate into the overall frame, versus the Eames' design that features the piece as a separate part of the chair.
The upholstery itself was intended to have a more "serious" demeanour, and perhaps a "high performance" aesthetic, hence why I drew from the automotive world.
And as to any potential structural issues with the highly cantilever design, I've run FEA studies using SolidWorks Simulation, the chair as it stands can safely support a load of 800lbs with a factor of safety of roughly 4. The high level of max stress shown is a singularity caused by a cosmetic fillet, it can be discounted.
This "lounge chair" is not intended to be a worn in leather glove like the venerable 670, but more a super-villain sitting in his underground lair contemplating how next he might take over the world.
I'm not trying to defend my design at all with these comments, just give some additional insight into my thought process, and perhaps make people re-think some of those "looks like an Eames" comments.
