martin labbé builds pine chair without a single screw in stockholm
OFF-THE-SHELF PINE BECOMES A CHAIR
Stockholm-based architect and designer Martin Labbé turns standard construction timber into a compact wooden chair built without screws or metal hardware. Developed as part of a furniture intervention for a small gelato shop, the chair takes readily available 45 x 95 mm pine sections and gives them a more deliberate architectural language through proportion, repetition, and exposed joinery.
Its straightforward silhouette is closely tied to how it is made. Rather than disguising connections beneath fittings or decorative details, Labbé assembles every element using traditional mortise-and-tenon joints and wooden dowels. The construction becomes the chair’s defining visual feature, giving an otherwise humble material a quietly precise — and perhaps slightly overqualified — new job.
martin labbé crafts the chair from standard pine sections
MARTIN LABBÉ LETS THE JOINTS DO THE TALKING
The chair emerged alongside a fixed bar table designed to make a compact gelato shop feel more open during its busiest periods. With queues occupying much of the available floor area in peak season, Labbé placed the bar against the wall opposite the service counter, leaving circulation largely unobstructed while providing seating for customers who wanted to stay rather than immediately disappear with their gelato.
The chairs carry the same tectonic logic as the bar, but condense it into a movable object. Every structural component uses the same 45 x 95 mm pine profile, allowing the familiar dimensions of construction lumber to dictate much of the chair’s character. There is little attempt to conceal where the material comes from; instead, its everyday quality becomes part of the point.
traditional joints hold the chair together without screws
A LITTLE LINSEED OIL, NO HARDWARE REQUIRED
Labbé fabricated each piece himself, sanding the pine extensively before treating it with linseed oil. The finish protects the timber while retaining its grain, tonal variations, and tactile quality, keeping the chair closer to raw carpentry than polished industrial production. Its simple assembly also puts emphasis on the physical meeting of each wooden member rather than on additional components. The chair will also form part of a broader furniture collection developed by Labbé around the same aesthetic and structural logic, using common off-the-shelf construction lumber. Designed and built by the architect himself, the collection is set to be presented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February 2027.
Seen away from the gelato shop, the chair stands on its own as a small exercise in extracting more from less: one standard timber section, a handful of traditional joints, and no hidden hardware. What began as a practical response to a tight commercial interior becomes a compact argument for treating ordinary materials with a little more attention — without making too much of a fuss about it.
45 x 95 mm pine profiles form every structural element
wooden dowels replace conventional metal hardware
the exposed joinery becomes part of the chair’s character
linseed oil preserves the natural texture of the pine
the project explores simple materials through careful craftsmanship
simple timber sections define the straightforward silhouette
the design treats construction lumber as finished furniture
traditional carpentry gives the pine chair its structural expression
the chair balances chunky pine sections with precise handcrafted joinery
project info:
name: Mesón y Silla.
designer: Martin Labbé | @martin.a.labbe
designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: Iñaki Laguardia | designboom
The post martin labbé builds pine chair without a single screw in stockholm appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.
