Knot Waste Furniture

Ryan Ferguson

At an exhibition in Wales focused on design and waste reduction, UK consultancy PriestmanGoode unveiled their Knot Waste Furniture system, a sustainable furniture solution that cleverly utilizes a single sheet of material to produce minimal waste. This system is designed to create various types of furniture, such as tables, benches, stools, and side tables, using a single flexible template that can be scaled to suit different needs. The key to this system lies in its simplicity and the use of rope to assemble the pieces, ensuring that no advanced woodworking or joinery skills are necessary. This makes it accessible even to those with minimal experience in handling tools, with the most challenging equipment being a jigsaw. The design maximizes the use of materials while minimizing waste, aligning with sustainability goals. PriestmanGoode has made the design templates and a knot-tying guide freely available, providing comprehensive instructions that guide users through the entire assembly process. This approach not only promotes environmental sustainability but also democratizes design by enabling more people to create their own furniture.

https://www.core77.com/posts/118953/Waste-Reducing-Design-A-Single-Sheet-of-Material-and-Rope-Forms-Furniture?utm_source=core77&utm_medium=from_title

https://www.priestmangoode.com/knot-waste/

The Hulot System

Ryan Ferguson

Jacob Cuesta Wolf, an Industrial Design student at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art & Design Halle in Germany, has developed the Hulot system, a modular furniture concept designed to address the sustainability challenges in furniture production and waste. Highlighting the alarming statistic that half of all bulky waste in Germany consists of still-usable furniture, amounting to nearly 1.7 million tons—a figure that has increased during the COVID pandemic—Wolf's design introduces a new model for circular use of furniture. This system assigns long-term responsibility to producers for the maintenance, repair, and refurbishment of products, fundamentally altering the relationship between users, producers, and the objects themselves. The Hulot system is based on a circular design that allows furniture pieces, such as chairs and tables, to be easily transformed and repurposed—like converting a chair into a table, then into a children’s high chair, and back into a chair. This adaptability ensures that the furniture can meet changing needs without becoming waste. Utilizing materials that store CO2, are recyclable, or are already made from recycled materials, the design not only emphasizes sustainability but also fosters a new attitude towards product development, promoting a lifecycle where products are continuously reused rather than discarded.

https://www.core77.com/posts/125064/Industrial-Design-Student-Work-Modular-Repurposeable-Furniture?utm_source=core77&utm_medium=from_title

https://design.jcwolf.de/HULOT

MLT Furniture

Ryan Ferguson

MLT is the fruit of a collaboration with a recycling plant based in Bromont, Quebec. I wanted to engage within the rigid and energy consuming industrial process that is recycling. After being melted, plastics are passed through and industrial extruder. Inorder to prevent the contamination or blockages, machines need to be purged regularly. Consequently, uncontrolled and un-recyclable plastic is discharged on the floors daily. These pools of wasted material instigated my research and inspired me to create this project.

MLT is a collection of four prototypes made out of purged HDPE. I designed a simple aluminum frame-work which is placed under the extruder that needs to be purged. The vessel, acting as a collector, guides and holds the liquid matter without restricting it to a predetermined shape. The outcome is a materialization of the symbiotic relationship between the imposed and organic form. 

https://www.emilemeunierdesign.com/mlt
https://www.core77.com/posts/126169/Furniture-Made-from-Excess-HDPE-Purged-from-a-Recycling-Machine?utm_source=core77&utm_medium=from_title

SYSTM

Ryan Ferguson

Lifecare Furniture has developed the SYSTM line, specifically designed to meet the stringent cleanliness requirements of healthcare facilities. This innovative furniture collection is engineered for quick disassembly using a red-handled Allen key, conveniently stored beneath the seat, allowing for efficient, thorough cleaning and easy re-upholstering. The design not only simplifies the maintenance and longevity of furniture in healthcare settings but is also suitable for high-traffic commercial environments. The collection includes various designs for both chairs and sofas, embodying a practical solution that could also benefit residential spaces by making furniture upkeep and updating simpler and more sustainable.

https://www.core77.com/posts/126411/Smart-Furniture-Designed-to-be-Quickly-Disassembled-for-Cleaning-or-Re-Upholstering?utm_source=core77&utm_medium=from_title

Nontalo Stool

Ryan Ferguson

The design duo Eneris Collective, in collaboration with NaifactoryLAB in Barcelona, has created the Nontalo stool for children, innovatively crafted from waste olive pits. This eco-friendly stool consists of six modules that include three P-shaped pieces and three straight rods, allowing for various configurations from a three-legged stool to a bench. The modules are made from Reolivar, a biomaterial developed by NaifactoryLAB that combines olive pits with bio-based binders to create a cork-like substance. Designers Irene Segarra and Irene Martínez of Eneris Collective aimed to merge play, spontaneity, and sustainability in this design, drawing inspiration from children’s construction sets. The material, Reolivar, is not only compostable at the end of its lifecycle but can also be returned for recycling, supporting a sustainable life cycle and usage in drier indoor environments to enhance longevity. Eneris Collective is also expanding this concept into a broader Nontalo Kids seating collection, reflecting a growing trend in using biomaterials for sustainable furniture design.

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/11/28/eneris-collective-naifactorylab-design-olive-pits-nontalo/

Terra Arm Chair

Ryan Ferguson

The TERRA! Grass Armchair Revival project breathes new life into the innovative concept of living, eco-friendly furniture, first introduced in 2000 by Studio Nucleo. This hands-on initiative invites enthusiasts to blend design with nature by assembling a unique flatpack kit into an armchair frame, which is then nurtured into a lush, green piece of garden furniture through the addition of soil, seeds, and regular watering. Aimed at fostering a deeper connection between individuals and their environments, the project not only offers a distinctive, sustainable piece of outdoor decor but also serves as a testament to the harmony achievable between human creativity and the natural world. Participants eager to cultivate their own grass armchair and contribute to this green initiative are encouraged to join the supporting Kickstarter campaign, embodying the fusion of art, design, and environmental stewardship.

https://design-milk.com/terra-armchair-made-grass/

Waste Scrap Stool

Ryan Ferguson

The New York-based Nikolas Gregory Studio introduces the 'Scrap Stool', an innovative approach towards sustainable design by repurposing industrial waste, specifically paper from local businesses, into functional furniture. By asking businesses to dispose of their paper waste in bins lined with a slow-drying glue, the studio efficiently creates stools with minimal production costs, utilizing waste and existing labor. This inventive method not only highlights the potential of sustainable design in reducing industrial waste but also signals a shift towards more environmentally conscious manufacturing practices, with plans to expand this approach to other furniture items, embodying the principle of re-contextualizing and repurposing for good.

https://www.designboom.com/design/nikolas-gregory-studio-industrial-waste-scrap-stool-12-08-2015/

Light Structure - Ayah Mahmoud

Salma Islam

Woven Chair

Ryan Ferguson


During the spring semester of 2022, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Architecture offered an advanced course focused on sustainable and digitally-enabled future product design, partnering with Emeco to provide students with high-quality manufacturing technologies. The course, highlighted by a project dubbed The Next 150-year Chair, encouraged students to reimagine the concept of furniture. Students explored various innovative designs, such as modular and recyclable components, focusing on longevity and adaptability. Their creations, ranging from a multi-functional childhood furniture piece to a chair enhancing privacy in compact spaces, were later showcased at Emeco House in Venice, CA. This partnership and its resultant designs not only pushed the boundaries of sustainable furniture but also questioned traditional notions of durability and utility in design, setting a new standard for future furniture innovation.

https://www.optima.inc/conceptualizing-the-future-of-furniture/

The Combines Collection

Ryan Ferguson

The Combines collection by Helsinki-based furniture design studio Antti Tuomi represents a novel approach to furniture assembly that eschews traditional joinery for a system based on slits, straps, and wedges. This unique collection is designed as flat-pack furniture that can be assembled entirely without the use of traditional screws. Instead, the pieces are put together using innovative mechanisms such as ratchet or rim screws, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly. All parts are removable and interchangeable, offering flexibility in terms of color and material combinations, catering to diverse aesthetic preferences and functional needs. The name "Combines" not only honors Robert Rauschenberg, who pioneered the concept of "three-dimensional paintings" also called Combines, but also reflects the multitude of combinations possible with the furniture system and the blended use of natural and synthetic materials. This design philosophy creates a versatile, user-friendly furniture line that adapites seamlessly to various settings and preferences.

https://www.core77.com/posts/120830/Who-Needs-Joinery-Experimental-Furniture-Held-Together-with-Straps?utm_source=core77&utm_medium=from_title

https://tuomifurniture.com/works/still-combining-2/