DESIGN FUTURES STUDIO · ASSEMBLY GUIDE · 2026
WATERBOYS · BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: NICK BARNETTE
STATUS: IN PROGRESS · COUNTS TBC
01 OVERVIEW
The Studio Chair is one kit of parts that assembles into five distinct configurations, each serving a different studio function. Every configuration uses the same components. Nothing in the system is single-use or configuration-specific.
The base materials — cinderblocks, wood panels, foam, and aluminum — are sourced by you from any hardware store. The WaterBoys hardware — ratchet straps, clamps, carabiners, and silicone covers — is what makes them a studio system.
No component is cut, drilled, glued, or permanently modified. The structural integrity of every configuration comes from three forces only: tension from ratchet straps, compression from clamps, and gravity from stacking.
“The joinery is the product. The base materials are already yours.”
02 COMPONENTS
A · BASE MATERIAL
Cinderblock
Structural base. Stacked to create height, mass, and stability.
B · BASE MATERIAL
Wood Panel
Seat surface, back panel, and tabletop across configurations.
E · WB HARDWARE
Ratchet Strap
Primary tension element. The visible structural layer that makes it a WaterBoys object.
F · WB HARDWARE
F-Clamp
Primary compression element for the panel-to-block interface.
H · WB HARDWARE
Carabiner
Strap-routing hardware that creates load-bearing anchor points.
I · WB HARDWARE
Silicone Cover
Soft-contact layer for grip, protection, and cobalt identity moments.
03 CONFIGURATIONS
C1
Primary configuration · deep-focus seated work · research · screen · client review · 2–4 hour sessions.
C2
Standing-height work surface for prototyping, model-making, material testing, and physical making.
C3
Object display for client walkthroughs, design reviews, and photography surfaces.
C4
Collaborative seating for client visits, informal sessions, and temporary studio expansion.
C5
Holds a door. Marks a studio. The system’s most reduced expression.
— BEFORE YOU START
01 · TENSION
Ratchet straps bind the assembly into one system.
02 · COMPRESSION
Clamps lock surfaces against the block stack.
03 · GRAVITY
Stacked mass creates the system’s stabilizing force.
ASSEMBLY · C1
Primary configuration · deep-focus seated work · research · screen · client review.
A × 6 · Cinderblock
B × 2 · Wood Panel
E × 2 · Ratchet Strap
STRAP ROUTING
E + H
01 Stack cinderblocks into two mirrored side towers, keeping cavities aligned for strap routing.
02 Place the wood panel across the towers and confirm that the seating surface sits level.
03 Route ratchet straps through the assembly, then tension until the blocks and panel behave as one object.
04 Add clamps at interface points, then place foam and silicone covers only after the structure is stable.