According to James Shaw,
The Well Proven Chair is the result of a long period of research into the development of a new material from wood chips. The investigation began with the discovery that creating usable products and furniture from wood generates between 50-80% waste in the form of sawdust, chippings and shavings. Early on we discovered an exciting reaction that occurs when these waste products are combined with bio-resin, where the porridge like mixture expands into a solid, foamed material. The reaction is exacerbated by; different types of wood, the addition of water, air trapped in shavings, and increased temperatures these different factors can give expansion of up to 600-700%.
Once the foaming material is made, Marjan and James apply it by hand to a mold based on the shaped of the ergonomic polypropylene shell chair. The foaming material then rises up in an unpredictable manner, creating a unique form that is both lightweight and strong.
The Well Proven Chair made its debut at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London September 2012. You can see more about the project in the video below, and learn more about the designers here and here.
Well Proven Chair from Wai Ming Ng on Vimeo.
via This is Paper
MORE CHAIRS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• New Version of the Acapulco Chair from The Common Project
• Broom Chair by Philippe Starck + Emeco: Reclaimed, Repurposed, Recyclable
• Street Seats by Bade Stageberg Cox
(Images: James Shaw)
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ooh, not my taste, but clever!
Hmmm, like the idea... Keep working on it.
I'd be interested in seeing where this will go from now. It does look a little experimental at this point, but there is probably great potential in it's use and application.
Kudos for brainstorming good use for an otherwise wasted material.
The very first picture (and the second) look like a monstrous fungus is consuming the chair. I would sit in it because I am not afraid of a monstrous fungus - unless it's in my shower, as I feel my privacy has been invaded. :)
The up-close picture looks less like a fungus and more like a chair that didn't quite make. I'd still prefer a chair molded both front and back, if that's possible to do with the material.
Wow. The potential uses for this are incredible. For a start, there are a lot of plastic (read: hydrocarbon derived) items that could be made this way.
I wonder what the insulative properties of this are...
There is potential here but at this point I would name this the elephant man chair.
Brutalist and revolting. I love it.
I hate being snarky about an innovative project, but vomit comes out in a “unique form” too, and I wouldn’t make a chair out of it.
No snark here at all: It’s really cool to see people finding a way to use something that would have just gone in the garbage.
It's utterly hideous.
I sincerely admire what they are trying to do.
Like most posters, I love the idea but I'm not at all fond of the outcome, at this point. Interesting, but nothing I'd want to own -- yet.
I don't see a reason why a closed mold wouldn't work, like poly foam molds. Or maybe molds with a front and back, but with open sides, with an additional finishing step on the exposed sides. Love the use of materials here.