re:pose by martin heck from germany

This sofa is composed of a retired waste container and a discarded canvas poster, filled with waste foam chips. The waste container offers a roll-able platform with a large PE-shell, foot-brake, and was retired because of cracks in the floor of the shell, which is irrelevant for this use. The shell had to be reinforced at one position. The poster offers a high quality material that is fire-proof and has an aesthetic motif, and was retired because the campaign for which it was produced was no longer current. The filling is a by-product in mattress production. It was produced with little difficulty with hand tools.

Statement:
In our opinion, the term “waste” is a linguistic invention of consumer society used to describe a material or form that either no longer fulfills its original purpose due to damage (a broken pen), arises as an unintended result of a manufacturing process (gypsum), or was designed with a limited lifespan in mind (bottle cap).

We approach waste at this very fragile linguistic moment – a moment full of promise, a moment where it is possible to examine the true qualities of the materials and forms by finding new applications for these inherited by-products of the industrial megalith.

We don’t expect to completely and permanently solve the world’s waste issues, however we do feel obliged to approach design with that nagging question in mind: how do we get rid of it?

In our opinion, designers and product developers need to consider the afterlife of the objects they create, which doesn’t imply alternative, improvised or moralistic, rather premium, cost-effective, aesthetic products that are sustainable. (Because we know that industry and society will continue making waste.)
-dt&ts