Roy Kesrouani

Roy Kesrouani, born in 1971 in Beirut, Lebanon, holds a Masters of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles. He also holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y. Practicing architecture for the past ten years, Kesrouani has been seeking to provide alternative propositions to the realm of habitat and settlement. Roy Kesrouani has appeared on television presenting sustainable architecture through 3D virtual prototypes and already built examples. He has also taught at N.D.U. Louaize, Lebanon.

"Tension Chair"

The occurrence of the tension chair tends to challenge our awareness about mundane objects. It opens a new possibility in redefining the act of sitting. Unlike the usual chairs that are held up by the sheer pull of gravity, the tension chair brings forth its stability by the principle of repulsion. The seat is maintained on the base of the chair through the strain of tensile cables. The seat, the back and the armrests are all confused into one reversed pyramid shape thus immediately putting the user into question on how to engage in the act of sitting. This interaction becomes something quite intimate just like two lovers discovering their bodies for the first time before ultimately fusing into one.