Sustainable furniture design – Giving new life to abundant table tops

Abstract: To face the rising challenges of climate change, average consumers, institutions and governments need to work towards more sustainable production and consumption. Soeco Kontorsmöbler AB is an established company focused on refurbishing and bringing older furniture back into circulation. On behalf of Soeco, the project team was challenged to create a sustainable lounge furniture constructed entirely from old leftover tabletops, and working to adhere to requirements set by prominent eco labels on the Swedish market. The resulting furniture is meant to be a competitive product that will prove the usefulness of discarded materials. Furniture design is a storied subject that spans centuries of discoveries and innovation. To design a furniture in a vacuum without the proper understanding of what has come before is an impossibility. To both pay respect and push the envelope, by creating a familiar yet unique design, the team thoroughly researched the relevant history of furniture design. From scratch, the project team generated a complete design and construction concept that utilises old tabletops made from medium density fibreboard as material for the frame, textile created from 100% recycled ocean plastics and with minimisation of other used materials. To meet the requirements set by eco labels the team also tested samples of different old medium density fibreboard tabletops for formaldehyde emissions at RISE. The product developed in this project is a visually striking design developed for sustainable production and ready to become a market competitor certified by eco labels.