jin kuramoto's light + strong biodegradable chair for OFFECCT

japanese designer jin kuramoto has created a bio-based chair for swedish manufacturer OFFECCT, presented during stockholm furniture fair. winner of the editors’ choice for best product during the city’s annual design week, the seating object is the result of a long research and development project that has concluded in a feather light, super strong and 100% biological piece.

the ‘jin chair’ is feather light, super strong and 100% biological

the process leading to this innovation began with a yearning to push the industry forward through the research of unconventional materials mixed with the use of hands. conversation between OFFECCT and kuramoto were held over several years before being unveiled first as a prototype during salone del mobile 2017.

‘many ideas are born when I make prototypes and I believe that you can only find new values in design by doing so and using your hands,’ comments jin kuramoto. ‘while working on a paper mode of a chair, I found myself arriving at a new structure which became the starting point.’

in order to realize it, flax fiber was used

in order to realize the ‘jin’ chair for OFFECCT, jin kuramoto used flax fiber — a biological material, that, if successfully industrialized, can make furniture both extremely light weight and high performance features. the body of the chair is defined by shaping thin layers of this material on top of each other, forming a strong shell around a core of air, making the surface the actual structure of the chair.

flax fiber allows for extremely light weight and high performance

‘this chair is what OFFECCT lab and our life-circle philosophy is all about: engineers and designers working closely together to explore new and sustainable horizons of the furniture industry,’ says anders england design manager at OFFECCT.

the structure of the chair is achieved by shaping thin layers of flax fiber