Project Overview

‘Groove’ is a range of sustainable seating and lighting, comprising of chair, children’s stool and floor lamp; produced from recycled cardboard with bamboo frames. The products are inspired by exploring the alternative use of everyday materials.

Components which create the three products are nested within each other, ensuring there is minimal material waste in the production process. The cardboard sections can be easily removed, recycled and replaced, giving the product an extended lifespan.

Organisation

Tane Design

Team

Gary Pennington - Project Manager

Project Brief

Design a range of furniture for both residential and commercial interiors, using sustainable materials and process which meet the following criteria;

1)Reduce the amount of waste in the production process.
2)Have easily changeable parts in order to extend the product lifespan.
3)Use everyday materials in an innovative way.
4)Can be developed from design to market on a small budget.
5)Have a contemporary aesthetic.
6)Encourage the consumer to engage with the objects.

Project Need

The Groove range offers a new way of producing furniture, through innovative use of materials and after-life concerns. At the end of the products life the cardboard sections can be removed, recycled and replaced, rather than scraping the whole piece of furniture. The consumer is encouraged to extend the products life by either purchasing or making replacement cardboard sections themselves. Through this engagement the owner creates a greater bond with the piece, which hopefully means they will keep the products for longer.

Innovation also lies in the production process; components are nested in such a way to insure minimum waste of both the cardboard and bamboo. The cardboard chair was developed by gradually increasing the size of the cavity below the seat area. Eventually the cavity was large enough to allow the development of a children’s stool and lamp shade component from the waste material.

Design Challenge

The main design challenge was in the engineering; to meet the brief of having easily removable components in order to increase product longevity several prototypes were tried and tested.

The first design attempted to produce a structurally sound chair without a frame, by simply clamping the cardboard components together. Unfortunately sideways movement prevented this design from being successful; over a period of time the components became loose and fell apart.

The final design utilizes a rigid bamboo frame which houses the loose cardboard sections, by removing the two screws in the horizontal ‘straps’ the cardboard components can easily be removed and recycled then replaced.

Sustainability

Sustainability directed the entire design process. Materials are sourced from local suppliers. The cardboard is recycled and produced by Visy, the bamboo is sourced from LETO bamboo also based locally.

Longevity was also a major design consideration, with removable, replaceable and recyclable parts, the Groove range can be maintained as and when required.

Reducing the amount of waste within the production process was also achieved by nesting components within each other.