Ta.Tamu

Dassault Systèmes

TA.TAMU

The first 3D-printed chair, folded, with no assembly, using a minimum of material

Designed by Patrick Jouin iD in collaboration with Dassault Systèmes, TA.TAMU is a chair printed in a single block by ERPRO, in its folded position and deployable without any assembly.

Thanks to advanced topological optimization, it uses only the exact amount of material required and embodies a new relationship between design and technology. The initial drawing was tested through simulation tools to achieve a result that is viable, expressive, and radically lightweight.

Two main challenges drove the project:
• to design an ultra-light yet fully functional seat;
• to ensure the entire piece could be printed in one go, folded to fit within the printing volume, and deploy seamlessly after fabrication.

The process is grounded in a continuous dialogue between the designer’s intuition and the intelligence of digital tools. Each iteration brought refinements, print tests, and physical validations. The design was constantly questioned, enriched, and fine-tuned.
Inspired by the structural logic of bone, the form is lightweight yet strong, as in the human body where material exists only where it is needed. This is a generated form, but never an automated one: it is the outcome of a patient dialogue between creation and computation.
Like a body, where joints connect each part, TA.TAMU is made up of 23 interconnected elements printed as one, linked together by 33 specific joints. Each joint was carefully designed to ensure the chair’s overall stability, the fluidity of movement, and the precision of the gesture once deployed.
The challenge lay in tuning the tolerance of every joint to the millimeter: tight enough to print without fusing, yet loose enough to move straight out of the printer. This level of precision required numerous iterations to find the right balance between strength, flexibility, and accuracy — a complexity made possible by today’s design tools.

MATERIAL: ECONOMY & PRECISION

TA.TAMU is the result of a long-term exploration where material, movement, and transformation are central to Patrick Jouin’s work.
As early as 2004, with Solid — the first 3D-printed chair — he began a journey inspired by natural structures, by grass growing, and by the invisible forces that shape matter. This approach has taken many forms over the years: One Shot, a folding stool printed in a single gesture; the monolithic bench at the Palais de Tokyo, hollowed out from within to lighten its structure while retaining its sculptural presence.
Since 2019, Patrick Jouin has been engaged in a collaborative dialogue with Anne Asensio and the teams at Dassault Systèmes, exploring themes of folding, deployment, and optimization. TA.TAMU was born from this intersection of design, science, and technology — a prototype that has become a method.
Together, they combined intuition with the power of digital tools, opening a prospective field: How can we design differently? How can constraints become a design language? How can we create forms tailored to contemporary materials and fabrication processes? TA.TAMU is a seat weighing just under 3 kilos, printed in 24 hours, and ready for use straight from the printer.
A skeletal structure, almost alive, that conserves every gram without compromising on elegance, precision, or the intelligence of the gesture.

TA.TAMU is a chair.
But it could be much more than that:
a method. A manifesto. A turning point.

Ta.Tamu, Patrick Jouin ID x Dassault Systèmes

Patrick Jouin’s creative research aligns with the ambitions of the DESIGNStudio and Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Designers and engineers from diverse backgrounds come together around a shared, forward-looking project, collaborating within a virtual environment equipped with advanced tools for design, simulation, and immersive visualization.

Initially developed for industrial use, this platform reveals its full relevance when applied to artistic and experimental practices. Industrial software resonates with the work of visionary designers like Patrick Jouin. Artificial intelligence does not oppose creativity — it expands its possibilities, offering designers a new digital space to explore, manipulate, and shape a novel aesthetic. A desirable, sensitive, and sustainable future begins to emerge.

PROCESS

Using as little material as possible serves a dual purpose.
It is first and foremost the most effective way to reduce the weight of an object,but it is also a deliberate stance in response to societal and environmental challenges. Less material means less energy in production, less pollution, less waste.
This chair is firmly rooted in a circular economy approach, integrating the full lifecycle of matter, sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, while ensuring the recyclability of each component.

From TAMU to TA.TAMU, the project has evolved through a process of experimentation and dialogue between designer and engineer.

A collaborative and virtuous exchange where human intelligence and algorithmic power converge to give life to a new kind of object, both in form and in its relationship to material. An exemplary chair.

"We are in an era where we produce more than we need. With the help of new collaborative technologies, we are now able to create more efficiently, generating less waste, right from the design process."
- Patrick Jouin