Redesign efforts lean towards democratic approach, emphasizing joyful, cost-effective aesthetics with the use of cardboard and rope for a chair.
In a remarkable fusion of modernist Indian design heritage and contemporary eco-conscious practices, Dhammada Collective, based in Bhopal, has unveiled an inspiring new creation - the 'Paper Tube' chair. This innovative piece, far from being a replica of Pierre Jeanneret's iconic teak library chairs from Chandigarh, is an experiment in fairness, repairability, and 'joyful frugality'.
The 'Paper Tube' chair is constructed using discarded cardboard tubes bound together with a continuous figure-eight lashing made from bright vermilion rope, a material leftover from a weaving workshop. The structural innovation lies in the rope lashing, which tightens under load and flexes with movement, ensuring structural integrity while keeping each paper tube replaceable. This unique design approach also incorporates hollow tubes, which serve as practical storage pockets, allowing users to slide in notebooks, spectacles, or pencils, integrating utility into the chair’s form.
Early prototypes faced structural challenges, with some collapsing spectacularly. However, these setbacks led to innovative solutions, such as inserting smaller tubes at crucial joints and emphasizing tension from the rope over the use of glue. To address durability concerns such as wear from friction and weight, Dhammada Collective incorporated 3D-printed protective bases and washers to reinforce the rope holes and the chair’s base, allowing the paper tubes' natural texture and print markings to remain visible, highlighting the chair’s recycled, honest materiality.
The 'Paper Tube' chair's design ethos is rooted in open-source principles, inviting others to experiment with recycled materials and traditional skills like lashing. This aligns with Dhammada’s democratic and joyful ethos, making a piece of furniture that connects craftsmanship, sustainability, and an homage to Jeanneret’s classic design in a new, adaptable form.
Dhammada Collective was inspired by Shigeru Ban's use of paper tubes in architecture, and the design of the 'Paper Tube' chair is meant to be honest about its origins, with a thin coat of varnish that seals the fibers but leaves every scratch and printer's code visible. The team behind the 'Paper Tube' chair is open to sharing their experiences and failures with anyone interested in replicating the project, and the project is expanding to include a series of paper-tube birdhouses in various shapes and sizes.
The 'Paper Tube' chair's value lies not in its fetish value alone, but in its humble origins from waste materials. The cardboard cores, usually destined for landfill, are made unrecyclable locally due to a glue layer that inhibits pulping. Dhammada Collective's 'Paper Tube' chair project began with the salvage of cardboard cores from an offset print shop, embodying the spirit of resourcefulness and sustainability.
[1] Information obtained from https://www.dhammadacollective.com/paper-tube-chair
The 'Paper Tube' chair, constructed from discarded cardboard tubes and vermilion rope, embodies sustainable living and contemporary home-and-garden design, seamlessly blending modern Indian design heritage with eco-conscious practices. This innovative chair, featuring practical storage pockets and an open-source design ethos, promotes repairability, fairness, and joyful frugality, aligning with Dhammada Collective's focus on craftsmanship, sustainability, and adaptable forms.
