At first glance it looks like a chair slowly sinking into a pool of vivid red. In reality, The Sinking Chair by designer Philipp Aduatz is much more than a design object: it is a reflection on memory, conflict, and the ability of design to address deeply human experiences.

On display at the Isola Design Festival during Milan Design Week 2025, the chair was produced as a limited edition through 3D printing in concrete and completed with resin, wood, and fiberglass. It draws on the imagery of Stanley Kubrick’s Shining, evoking a sense of unease that arises from the contrast between its clean, rigorous, architectural form and the organic fluidity of the resin that recalls blood. A powerful image that leads viewers to question the traces trauma leaves over time, the collective scars that keep resurfacing.

Within this tension between what remains on the surface and what sinks, The Sinking Chair invites us to reflect not only on the past but also on the present. It alludes to contemporary conflicts, the reappearance of authoritarian tendencies and ideological divisions, underscoring the urgency of staying vigilant and cultivating empathy. It is a design that becomes a critical language, capable of engaging with human fragility and turning into a tool for awareness.

The construction process in turn tells of this union between solidity and fragility: a chair 3D-printed in concrete, supported by a base of wood and fiberglass, and finally immersed in red epoxy resin, poured into a mold to obtain a compact, glossy body that is both sculptural and functional. The final result is not only a design piece, but a work that brings form, emotion, and matter into dialogue, urging those who observe it to rethink the role of design in our present.

The Sinking Chair doesn’t simply ask to be looked at, but to be listened to: like a silent warning, it reminds us that a story can hide behind every object, and that even through a design gesture one can speak of memory, resilience, and healing.

Photo courtesy of © Paris Tsitsos