SFAI.01
A tribute to the traditional Ibicencan chair that explored the potential of open source design
(March 2024)
Project presented at La Carpintería, Ibiza
In March 2024, industrial designer Alban Le Henry presented SOMETHING FOR AN ISLAND at La Carpintería, the foundation’s art space in Ibiza, where he had been working for over a year. The project intertwined local design heritage with contemporary industrial aesthetics, offering a reflection on the cultural significance of the traditional Ibicencan chair and its capacity to evolve through collective participation.
As Le Henry expressed: “The Ibicencan chair is an incredibly versatile and timeless object that needs no upgrades. It’s perfect just the way it is. Therefore I decided to delve into the values of the chair and use them as a starting point for this project: it is made with local materials, it is a design that belongs to everyone and therefore each family on the island developed their own version, and it is perfectly adaptable to multiple uses.”
At the heart of the project was The ‘Island’ Family — a set of three chairs and three stools designed for universal accessibility. Conceived as an open source design initiative, the project offered downloadable plans and assembly instructions, free for anyone to modify and develop. Rather than proposing a model to replicate, Le Henry framed the project as a shared design proposition — one that encouraged collective creativity and adaptation.
The program unfolded through a series of events that transformed La Carpintería into an active workshop space. The project launched on March 9, presenting prototypes of the ‘Island’ family alongside the tools and materials of its production process. Visitors were invited into the making of the work as Le Henry and his team assembled pieces live, creating an experience that revealed each phase of production.
Participants could purchase kits containing pre-cut wooden boards, screws, and a printed publication with the instructions needed to build their own chair — offered at a nominal fee to support shared authorship and hands-on engagement. The closing event on March 22 turned La Carpintería into the vibrant “Island Bar,” a participatory gathering where visitors presented their customized chairs while exchanging insights and experiences developed throughout the project.
Ultimately, SOMETHING FOR AN ISLAND functioned not only as a design exhibition, but as a community catalyst — inviting communal intervention, transforming each chair into a global canvas, and bridging Ibiza’s craft traditions with contemporary, open-source innovation.
Designer
Alban Le Henry
SFAI.01
Alban Le Henry is a designer trained at ENSCI – Les Ateliers (École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle). After graduating in 2001, he spent several years assisting the Bouroullec brothers, an experience he often describes as his “second school.” In 2007, he established his own design studio in Paris and has since developed a wide-ranging practice spanning exhibition scenography, industrial design, and collectible objects for galleries.
Le Henry denies having any particular experience, but instead claims to have “a pragmatic vision or technical sensibility” — a statement that reflects his approach to design as an ongoing process of making, testing, and refining through material intelligence and structural clarity.
Residency: SFAI.01
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