In 2004 French designer Patrick Jouin introduced his innovative use of rapid prototyping (RP) technologies for furniture design in his SOLID series. For this SOLID C1 chair, Jouin used the RP technique: a computer-aided design is transmitted to a 3-D printer, where lasers harden liquefied plastic layer by layer until the design emerges completed without assembly. It is a cost- and time-effective mode of production that merges the design and manufacturing processes. Originally based on a random two-dimensional pattern that is transformed into a three-dimensional form, this chair would have been nearly impossible to create without RP technology. Jouin was the first to successfully adapt this technique to furniture design.