Design & Architecture (chairs)

We originally hugged Cohda Designs' recycled plastic chair last year, while it was still a computer rendering and fantastic concept. It's been created (and is in limited production) now, and was one of the big hits at this year's HauteGREEN design exhibition; check out this video from Core77 and more coverage at MoCo Loco (and hit TreeHugger's Sneak Peek at a bunch of the designs at the show here for more green design goodness). The RD4, or Roughly Drawn chair, is a hand woven recycled plastic chair that breaks from the more traditional flat pack forms associated with "recycled plastic" furniture designs to create a really unique, really cool design. According to the UK-based designers, who have done some math to calculate the savings that comes from recycling plastic rather than using virgin materials, the energy savings of the design in comparison to a virgin alternative equates to powering a 60 Watt light bulb for 1483 hours of continuous use -- wow! Using HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic -- that's #2 plastic for you recyclers out there -- the RD4 chair aims to to view waste plastic packaging as a valuable resource as opposed to an ecological difficulty, utilize the embodied energy present in waste plastics as effectively as possible, and generate a new recycled design aesthetic, breaking from traditional flat-pack forms, while stimulating debate around recycling and the traditionally understood aesthetics of recycled products. Because it's made from a single material, without further glues or binding agents, it can be recycled again without any bothersome separation. The chair is one of the more innovative, thoughtful "recycled" products we've seen, and hope other designers using recycled materials will follow their lead when it comes to both the aesthetic and smart materials use. The chair is in limited production in the UK, and available for order from Cohda's website. Hit the jump to see the chair in action. ::Cohda