Today I’m writing a post about upcycled paper design. Yes upcycled, not recycled. Made by Ruben Iglesias | RUBCN, Santander | Spain. This design is part of a project called retrain and is the result of exploring new ways to reuse paper.
Paper furniture shows strength
The Retrain Project is a reinterpretation of waste, where wasted materials are the basis for creating new works, halfway between design and art. The base for ‘Sofa Away‘ is a reused wood pallet, the structure is made by braided paper and it also contains reused paper to fill the inside.
This piece is not only an art work and a functional object, it is also a statement that shows the power of reused paper as an structural and decorative material.
Ruben Iglesias:
“While exploring new paths to reuse paper, I found that braided paper strips are really strong and flexible. Later I thought of using a flexible interior instead of a rigid structure. I realized the versatility of paper balls just at the same time as I throwed one to the recycle bin and missed the shot.”
The Sofa Away is filled with paper balls. The base is made reusing a pallet, where a small door is made to fill the inside with more paper balls if it is needed.
The external graphic design is a challenge. Every design on every strip is choosen to show faces and other body parts, colours or selected texts. While braiding the strips, every part of the strip that is finally shown, is selected trying to create a colorful collage. A thin layer of transparent varnish is applied in order to protect the object from the water and also to give more strength to the whole structure.
As every work of the retrain project, the Sofa Away is a unique piece. Even if the same shape with the same components and also with the same paper would be used, it is impossible to repeat the object with the same result. “The aim is to develop objects that are completely determined by a specific moment and place.”
Photos © RUBCN
Design by RUBCN
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