A versatile and sustainable piece of furniture that offers a complete recircularity of its pieces
A versatile and sustainable piece of furniture as it can be easily transformed from chair to table and vice-versa, offering a complete recircularity of its pieces and a wide range of spatial configurations to encourage creativity and communication.
Tree is based on ecological wooden materials and its fixed joints are replaced by removable parts of recycled plastic using 3D pellet printing without the need to resort to external production avoiding greater logistics and therefore more pollution.
Local
Spain
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Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
A piece of sustainable furniture for both indoor and outdoor workspaces, highly versatile as it can be easily transformed from chair to table and vice versa, offering a wide range of spatial configurations and a complete recircularity of its pieces.
Tree is produced on the premise of minimum impact and minimum waste. The OSB board for the seat and the round slats for the legs are based on wooden materials because they are the most ecological, biodegradable, natural and recyclable materials available. The fixed joints are replaced by removable parts made of recycled plastic using 3D pellet printing, recycling the plastic from the environment to give it a practical life.
Tree is designed for a long life cycle and a positive impact on the environment that goes beyond its materials and sustainable manufacturing process.
Its triangular shape allows a flexible and ergonomic use in collaborative spaces (classrooms, offices, meeting rooms...) adapting the number of chairs and tables and playing with the distribution of these in the space. This was sought with the aim of encouraging the creativity and communication of users in certain activities such as brainstorming or group dynamics.
"These modular configurations would be sporadic and easy to create as Tree is very light, easy to move and transform with little effort"
Thanks to the interchangeability of the parts, one piece of wood can be replaced by another or recycled to make a new one.
In addition, thanks to 3D printing technology, if a plastic part breaks, it could be the Tree users themselves who replace it by being able to manufacture the part without the need to resort to external production, which involves greater logistics and therefore more pollution.
In the end, this piece of furniture, like a tree taking root, would be able to connect different centers and users and thus create a sustainable community that recycle plastic and wood and reduce environmental impacts.
Recircularity
Furniture concept
Chair into table
3D printing
Recycled plastic and wood
Tree is designed for a long life cycle and a positive impact on the environment. This is achieved through its materials and sustainable manufacturing process but goes much further.
In this case we start from the most ecological material that exists, wood, and the recycling of plastic, thus achieving a first positive impact on the environment by making good use of resources from controlled forests and eliminating what was previously a polluting waste.
Secondly, in terms of manufacturing, Tree is produced on the premise of minimum impact and minimum waste. The transport of Tree to its place of consumption would be eliminated, and therefore the polluting emissions derived from it, as it is a totally dismountable and light product that is capable of making the most of the packaging space
In terms of its life cycle, by changing place or shape, Tree will never cease to have a use.
Thanks to the independence of the pieces from each other, if a piece of wood is damaged, it would be enough to replace this piece with a new one without having to throw away the whole piece of furniture. The damaged piece would be recyclable and could be used to make other pieces. If several pieces start to fail, the parts that are in good condition could be used to replace the damaged ones in other chairs or tables, as they are all made up of the same parts and are perfectly interchangeable.
Moreover, thanks to 3D printing technology, if a plastic part were to break, it could be the Tree centres or users themselves who could replace it, as they could manufacture the part without the need to resort to external production, which would involve greater logistics and therefore more pollution. All that is needed is a 3D printer, which most facilities already have, and recycled plastic, preferably in the form of pellets or filament, since the 3D model, being a digital file, is accessible to anyone who needs it.
The purpose of the furniture unit to be designed is both environmental and social. The aim is to create a modular unit for workspaces that encourages interaction, creativity and dynamism. Characteristics such as adaptability, mobility and practicality are indispensable.
The most interesting sustainable solution to meet all these requirements is the design of a chair that can also function as a table. In this way, sporadic spaces can be created quickly by taking advantage of the adaptability and modularity of this concept.
In addition, a chair that can be converted into a table encourages the recirculation of the piece of furniture, as it can have two different lives depending on the needs of a specific space and time.
This dynamic concept is ideal for the new forms of work and face-to-face teaching where better communication and integration is sought after times of pandemic. Being able to shape the layout of the workspace also encourages people's creativity.
The purpose of Tree is both environmental and cultural as a modular unit for workspaces that encourages interaction, creativity and dynamism.
In addition, a chair that converts into a table encourages the possibilities of the furniture to have two different lives depending on the needs of a specific space and time.
This dynamic concept is ideal for the new forms of work and face-to-face teaching where better communication and integration are sought after times of pandemic. Being able to shape the layout of the workspace also encourages people's creativity.
Tree has been designed for flexible and ergonomic use in collaborative and cultural spaces (classrooms, offices, meeting rooms...) to adapt the number of chairs and tables and to play with the distribution of these in the space. This was sought with the aim of encouraging communication and interaction of users, whether students or employees, in certain activities such as brainstorming, debates or group dynamics.
"These configurations would be sporadic and easy to create as Tree is very light, easy to move and transform with little effort"
"If we want a chair, Tree can be a chair, if we want a table, Tree can also be a table. A big table? Also with a hexagonal shape? Tree can be.
In short, it can have different lives adapting to the circumstances of the social moment by playing with its shape. There are no limits to the shapes that can be created by the modularity of both chairs and tables. Moreover, these changes can be made in a few minutes and with minimal effort, making it ideal for spaces that require great dynamism and sporadic configurations.
Considering its function, the use of Tree can be adapted to a variety of social applications, and even in the same place or on the property of the same consumer, it can be put to a wide variety of uses.
In the end, this piece of furniture, as a tree takes root, would be able to connect different centres and users and thus create a sustainable community, a community able to recycle plastic and wood, to reduce environmental impacts and to recirculate Tree. In the end, Tree and recirculation are the same thing.
The design of the concept started from my home and my university, thanks to the support of my friends and family. However, Tree is suitable for everyone, and its use can be scaled up to achieve sustainable changes on a larger scale.
The development of the project has taken into account studies in the fields of plastic recycling, 3D printing of pellets, machining and processing of wood, OSB boards, modelling and design for 3D fitting... The field that has become most important in the design has been 3D printing, but why 3D printing?
The application of 3D printing as a production technique for Tree's plastic parts offers multiple ecological benefits:
- Waste-free production, avoiding waste of material as you print just what you need. This is the main advantage of additive manufacturing over subtractive manufacturing. In addition, Tree parts are designed so that they do not need supports, further reducing material consumption.
- Reuse of plastic material that comes from oceans, forests or cities and that is harmful to the environment. Encouraging the transformation of what used to be waste into a useful and sustainable product.
- Greater accessibility and reduction in logistics and travel, both in terms of CO2 emissions and economically, as the 3D models of the parts can be printed from anywhere in the world. Moreover, additive manufacturing is capable of producing parts that are 50% lighter.
- Adaptation to production needs and ease of maintenance.
- Material suitability by taking advantage of the properties of plastic: impermeability, low cost, strength and flexibility.
- Damaged or broken plastic parts could be easily converted back into pellets and shaped into a new, functional part by encouraging recirculation.
The Tree concept is unique, a chair that with a simple and quick modification can be converted into a table. This is achieved by raising the seat by placing a leg at the top, thus conserving all the parts in both arrangements and giving the ability to convert a chair into a table and vice versa without the need for additional parts or another chair or table unit.
Tree was designed with a triangular shape for greater adaptability, material utilisation and comfort. The seat is supported by three tubular wooden legs, in keeping with its triangular shape, although it would also have an additional central leg that is removable for placement on top to raise the seat in the table configuration. Its finish is natural and aesthetic, as it shows the essence of wood without varnish.
The most complicated thing in the process of creating Tree was to establish the right tolerances for a perfect fit with the wooden pieces. A perfect fit for this modifiable and removable piece of furniture is understood as a strong fit, with no looseness but which can be removed with a little effort to change the configuration.
To analyse the scalability of Tree, let's take an example: What could Tree be used for in a university environment? This piece of furniture has been designed to serve as a module in workspaces, so the first use we can think of is in classrooms, for creative and dynamic activities such as cooperative actions or brainstorming processes. However, this furniture can also be found in the common areas of the university such as the library, the dining room or outdoor areas used for relaxation. All the units in this environment can be easily moved from one area to another and can be used as chairs or tables according to the needs of the classes, activities or students. Therefore, by changing location or shape, Tree will never cease to have a use.
This means that Tree could be easily scalable to other urban environments, such as libraries, hospitals, office buildings and temporary cultural or social activities.
Thanks to Tree, sustainable communities can be created that recirculate resources and improve the world we live in through the social and cultural impact of this piece of furniture.
