I have a minor obsession with making furniture out of cardboard. That led me, several years ago, to take a class in cardboard furniture design at the Art Center College of Design. Needless to say, I was delighted to see that the Rhode Island School of Design has a similar class project that focuses on creating a child's chair out of a single sheet of corrugated cardboard.

Each prototype had to be cut from one piece of 48″ x 80″ cardboard and support at least 55 lbs. The students were broken up into teams of 3 and given a week to complete the challenge.

After presenting to their classmates, the chairs were put to the test by seven visiting children as the students watched their interactions via webcam from an adjacent room. As you can imagine, great insights were uncovered as the children broke some of the chairs, found new and creative uses for others, and gave the students a wealth of information about their projects. At the end of the day, each child got to choose their favorite chair and take it home.

This is exactly the kind of project that makes me miss art school!

See all the projects here: RISD-ID.org - Cardboard Chair | The Annual Children's Review

(Images: Callil Capuozzo | RISD)