Architecture studio Snøhetta has unveiled at Stockholm Design Week the S-1500, a chair made from recycled plastic and steel taken from Norwegian fish farming industries. Created in collaboration with furniture manufacturer Nordic Comfort Products (NCP), the chair is made using materials provided by local fish farming companies like Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett and Nova Sea, that supply NCP with worn-out fish nets, ropes and pipes from their operations.
Once these components are worn out they can be collected, processed and subsequently grinded into a granulate that can be injected into formwork, generating endless of possibilities for developing new objects. In this way, the project contributes to building a local, circular economy, as it employs plastic waste from the local industry to produce chairs in the same area.
Due to its production technique and varying plastic compositions, the pattern of each chair will be unique, even though the chair will be mass produced. Its matte, pebbled, dark green surface bears resemblance to marble. It tells the story of plastic that has been on a journey as fish nets in the North Sea, to the production facilities of NCP and eventually ends up as a chair in a school, a home or a public facility.
In order to reduce the need to produce new, virgin plastic, consumers and industry need to acknowledge the value inherent in used plastic and find ways to substitute virgin plastic with recycled material. With the development of the S-1500 chair, Snøhetta hopes to inspire people to employ waste material in new and sustainable ways through innovation and design.
The chair is available for sale through Nordic Comfort Products (NCP), and is now on show at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair until February 9th.
