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Guess what rubbish from school is in this table

Pia Seidel
12.10.2023
Translation: machine translated

More and more designers are devoting themselves to material research and starting a new, innovative sector of recycling and upcycling. Taiwanese designer Lin Chu-Chien is one of them. She makes furniture from waste. Join in the guessing game to find out what she recycles.

The Department of Industrial Design at Shih Chien University (SCID) in Taiwan presented an exhibition at this year's Salone del Mobile in Milan called "From Contemporary Life to Future Life", translated: "From Contemporary Life to Future Life". It featured 15 student projects that experimentally explored how social problems can be tackled with technology without neglecting traditional craftsmanship. The project "Live & Learn" by designer Lin Chu-Chien stood out in particular. It consists of furniture made from a recycled material that is difficult to recognise from the outside. With the help of the following clues, you may be able to find out for yourself which waste material is in her pink side table. The solution is given immediately afterwards.

Let's go!

If you are somewhere between a millennial and a boomer, the material you are looking for is guaranteed to have accompanied you through your school years. It was used by teachers and students in lessons in various subjects and was used to present explanations, examples and exercises. Since leaving school, you've probably only rarely come across the material. Nowadays, it is increasingly being replaced by digital means.

What kind of waste material do you think the side table is made of?

Submit your tip - you'll find the solution right below.

  • Pencils
    13%
  • Globes
    5%
  • Textbooks
    47%
  • Calculator
    0%
  • Chalk
    35%

The competition has ended.

Resolution

"Live & Learn" is a project that recycles and upcycles textbooks. In Taiwan, around 26 million school books are thrown away every year. Lin Chu-Chien took this as an opportunity to look for another use for all the waste paper. She succeeded in converting the waste into a special paper pulp that is suitable for furniture and lighting design. She also reinforced the pulp with paper tubes and Honeycomb panels, so that the result is robust and durable.

The paper recycling process makes it possible to build furniture.
The paper recycling process makes it possible to build furniture.
Source: Pia Seidel
Although the material appears soft, it is stable enough for shelves, tables or seating.
Although the material appears soft, it is stable enough for shelves, tables or seating.
Source: Pia Seidel

Lin Chu-Chien works like a materials researcher, focussing primarily on material properties rather than shape. There is great potential for growth in this sector if her idea is discovered and can be utilised for larger projects.

This is the 11th "Guess what" episode where I don't tell you what things are made of right at the beginning so that you can join in the guessing.

Cover photo: Pia Seidel

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Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.ch

Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.

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