Oki Sato explains how Nendo's chair for Fritz Hansen follows circular design principles, in this exclusive video filmed by Dezeen at the Japanese design studio's office in Milan.
Called the N02 Recycle, the stackable chair is made from recycled household plastics and is designed to be recycled into a new chair at the end of its life.
The release of the chair is the first move by Fritz Hansen towards creating products for the circular economy.
Japanese studio Nendo has designed a chair for Fritz Hansen made from recyclable household plastics
"It's really important for us to try to connect the tail of the project with the head of the project and try to create a complete loop," Sato told Dezeen.
The household plastics used to make the seat are collected from recycling facilities in central Europe, ground into pellets, melted down and then moulded into the shell of the chair. "20 years ago, designers were looking at how the product would begin, how it's produced and how it's sold but now I think the end of the product is more important," Sato said. "We really need to focus on what's going to happen after the product is thrown away."
Sato told Dezeen that designers have to consider what will happen to a product after it's thrown away in order to design sustainably
Sato took design cues from a fold in a piece of paper, translating it into a horizontal crease across the back of the chair.
"We tried to bend it or fold it in different ways and we n...