Furniture Calculator Suspends Person in Mid-Air to Determine Contours (May, 1952)

Furniture Calculator Suspends Person in Mid-Air to Determine Contours

With a simple rig that suspends a person in mid-air, furniture designers can tailor-make a chair to fit the exact body contours of the subject. Rudolph Jegrt, an art instructor in Milwaukee, Wis., invented the contour delineator, which consists of two panels of steel mesh and some steel rods. The mesh panels are mounted two feet apart. A basic chair design is envisioned, and the rods pushed through the mesh to form the contour. The subject then climbs into the “chair” and the rods are shifted to match the subject’s body lines.