Shangai Trash Chair and Shelf

The Shanghai Trash Chair & Shelf is a collection developed in 2018 that explores the immediate relationship between urban growth, waste, and local craftsmanship. During a residency in Shanghai, the design team initiated a process of "urban extraction," navigating the city’s streets to collect discarded materials that reflected the rapid metabolism of one of the world's largest metropolises. The project serves as a critical commentary on the "throw-away" culture, transforming the ignored debris of the city into functional objects that carry the narrative of their own origin.

The design team conceptualized these pieces as a dialogue between the "bastard" materials of the street and the sophisticated techniques of local craft. The collection is built using a variety of found elements, ranging from discarded wooden furniture parts and industrial plastics to metallic scraps. Instead of concealing the humble origin of these materials, the studio highlighted their previous lives, allowing the scratches, paints, and textures to remain visible. The resulting aesthetic is one of "ordered chaos," where disparate fragments are unified through a rigorous structural logic that transforms trash into high-end collectible design.

Technically, the Trash Chair and the Trash Shelf are masterclasses in improvised engineering. Each piece is unique, as its form is dictated by the specific dimensions and properties of the found materials. The studio focused on creating robust joints and stable configurations that defy the fragile appearance of the waste. By applying a cohesive finishing process—often involving stabilization through mechanical fasteners or industrial coatings—the team ensured that these objects meet the standards of durability and comfort expected from contemporary furniture. This approach elevates the value of the discarded, proving that design can act as a tool for re-evaluating the resources that the urban environment constantly rejects.

As a significant research project within the studio's trajectory, the Shanghai Trash collection demonstrates the power of site-specific intervention. By working directly with the "shadow" of Shanghai’s production, the team created a series of objects that are not only functional but also act as physical archives of a specific time and place. The project reinforces the studio's commitment to finding beauty and utility in the surplus of the artificial environment, proving that the future of design lies in our ability to look at waste as a primary, noble resource.