Hui Kao's has created the Paper Pleats furniture collection from paper bound with rice glue, which was developed as a result of the designer's sensitivity to chemicals and desire to create recyclable products.
The collection includes stools, coffee tables, a dining table set, shelving, a space divider and a ceiling lamp.

Every piece is made from tracing paper that is soaked in rice water that acts like glue, binding the sheets of paper together.
As the paper absorbs the water it shrinks and wrinkles, helping to create a strong, rigid structure once the material dries out.

Hui Kao has developed a series of bespoke tools to shape the paper while it is still wet, including moulds. These allow the designer to retain the wrinkles in the paper and create regular patterns and pleats.
"Paper is made out of fibre and the biological features of a tree partly remain," the designer told Dezeen.
"Water is a perfect trigger to wake up its self-shaping ability. By controlling key elements of the paper-making procedure, such as humidity and drying temperature, I try to encourage the paper to achieve a certain shape and texture. It's almost like I've learnt how to team up with the material to design the object."

To create objects that can support significant weight, the designer creates lots of irregular tubes of paper, which are then bound together by the rice water. The final effect is objects that look fragile but are surprisingly strong.
The designer develop...