Old school chairs like the Mullca were built to survive decades of abuse, with welded steel frames and bolted parts that could outlast the building itself. That durability was impressive, but it also meant the chairs were impossible to take apart or repair at home if something did eventually break. Contemporary designers are questioning whether indestructibility is the only way to think about longevity, with design for disassembly and repair becoming just as important as raw toughness.
Carrousel is a chair concept by Thibaud Rollet that starts from the familiar silhouette of nostalgic school chairs but shifts the focus to how it is assembled and maintained. Instead of chasing the legendary durability of a Mullca, Carrousel is designed to be easy to produce, disassemble, and repair, with individual elements that can be replaced or even 3D printed by the user at home when parts wear out or need refreshing.
Designer: Thibaud Rollet
The basic construction is straightforward. A bent or laminated wooden frame forms the legs and backrest supports, while horizontal traverse pieces carry the structural load. The seat and backrest are separate panels fixed with four screws each, visible on the surface. Those screws bite into metal threaded inserts embedded in the wood, so panels can be removed and reattached repeatedly without damaging the material or stripping the threads.
The covering L-shaped pieces sit over the joints between the frame and the seat or backrest. These parts are held in place by the screws and inserts, and they are the most likely candidates for 3D printing. Users could swap them out to change colors, textures, or even shapes, turning a functional joint into a place for customization and personal expression without needing professional tools.
The visible screws and simple joinery send a clear message that the chair is meant to be taken apart, not treated as a sealed object. Instead of hiding the assembly, Carrousel uses it as part of the aesthetic language. That openness encourages people to replace worn panels, refresh the look, or tinker with new parts, extending the chair’s life in a way that feels approachable rather than intimidating.
Of course, swapping a backrest or changing the covering pieces can refresh the chair without replacing the whole thing, and the act of playing with those options adds emotional value. When you’ve customized or repaired something yourself, you are more likely to keep it around rather than send it to the curb when a screw loosens or a panel gets scratched.
Carrousel borrows the reassuring outline of a school chair but rewires the logic underneath, making it easy to disassemble, repair, and personalize. It suggests that the next generation of everyday chairs might be less about lasting untouched forever and more about being easy to live with, update, and care for. That shift from indestructible to repairable might end up keeping more furniture out of landfills than any amount of added steel ever could.
The post This School Chair Concept Has 3D-Printable Replacement Parts first appeared on Yanko Design.