Origin
I've been mulling over the design for 3 years but the major start of the project was, rather poetically, at the end of it's life.
I visited a recycling plant to work out what designers do wrong when designing for the circular economy.
Here I learned the 2 best materials for recycling are cardboard and Aluminium.
System
The chair is bought as a box.
You unpack the frame and secure the box to the frame.
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After using the chair for 5 years the box can be replaced with any cardboard and the worn box can be recycled.
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After 20-50 years the aluminium frame can be recycled into a waste stream with near 100% retention
Design
To minimise weight and size for shipping I ran hundreds of simulations on the frame.
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The back is designed to brace the areas which most pressure is exerted on whilst allowing for deformation of the board around the buttocks and arms.
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The Legs slot together to reduce space and can hold over 100kg.
Sketches
The early challenge was defining the shape, I looked to the comfort of Dieter Rams compartmentalised style with defined spaces for each product to occupy.
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The cube was surprisingly effective from an anthropometric standpoint as it cradles the human form.
As a Designer chairs are an inevitability. My tutor at Falmouth always asked "why does the world need another chair?". In the case of the alison chair its to demonstrate a point.
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The area which stands to gain the most from sustainable design is transport of products.