Straw furniture design



Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants. Sichuan is an agricultural province in China,

each year there's much rice straw left in fields. Many farmers choose to burn the straw to remove them,

which creates many problems like air pollution and it even affects takeoffs and landing of aircrafts.


This project explores the potentials of rice straw. Use this agricultural by-product as the main material of the furniture design, at the same time optimize its natural aesthetics.



Target Group



The target group of this project is millennials who live in urban areas in China. After our research,

we found out that most millennials living in urban areas tend to rent a small apartment or co-live

with others due to the high housing price in China. For this phenomenon as designers, we need

to rethink how to make full use of interior space in a limited room, and what actually furniture

means to millennials.



Sustainability



Using straw as a main resource of the furniture design is not only a way to cope with the straw burning issue but also a method to encourage people to appreciate the aesthetics of straw; its unique texture and feeling.

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Modular design



Each part of the furniture is in a particular module. This entitles users the right of design; they could play with the form of the furniture and customize it to serve the purpose they want.



Crossover



Crossover is a popular concept in automobile design but still quite new in product design. In this furniture collection, we break the boundary of each product and explore its potential to serve a multifunctional purpose.



Integrated design



Integrating different furniture into one with multi-features enable users to make full use of interior space, especially in small apartments. It's not a method of compromising but making this collection younger and more fun.



Sketch





Geometric Shapes





We chose geometric shapes, like the square and triangle, as the primary forms of this furniture collection. The primary forms give users many different combinations of the furniture. As a designer, I always put users at the center of the design; in this case, give back creativity to users, and let them create their very own perfect temporary or permanent homes.





Depends on size of rooms, users can choose which ones to buy and use the combination they prefer to customize their interior space, bigger or smaller.





Just remove one or two and rearrange the order of the furniture, users can have a different space in their living room.



The entire collection





Side table







Tea table/couch



This tea table has a book shelf beside it and a foldable cushion on it, which could be removed when needed. It could be used as a couch when people come, or an extra sofa bed for one. This multi-fuction tea table gives users the opportunity to use it in the way they want.





Stool with side table



This stool could be used as a small couch or leg rest. People could use three or four of it to create a bigger couch for their living room. The stool is consist of three parts: a cushion, a straw wood part and the metal leg. And it's easy to separate each part while transporting.



LED Stick Lamp



This metal stick lamp with concrete base adds young vibes to users' room. Two different sizes makes it easy to fit in smaller rooms.







Couch back/divider



This is a couch back, which could be put anywhere users want in a room. It could be used as a divider as well; to separate different spaces in the living room.







Small tables



We want to make tables more fun and bring young vibes to users' living rooms. For example, you can used a table as a book shelf, a flowerpot. We usually put out plants on a table, but why not just plant it in the "table"? So we made a table into a small sink, where users can grow a plant in. We designed another table as a small shelf where users could put books and other stuff on. And of course we don't define the purpose of those furnitures, we leave them to users.





Multi-functional trolley cart



This trolley has three shelves and two wheels. Users could put books, candles or other stuff on the shelves. It's easy to move around, so users could use it for different purposes, like a table beside the couch or a book shelf against a wall.



Presentation slides



Design process



crossover



straw and design



style



integrated furniture



modular design



geometric design



Presentation slides (in chinese)



Type



Product design, Furniture design,

Design strategy.


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Team



Jingyuan Zhang, Moritz Zhao

Student project: 8 weeks



My role



Design research. Concept development, Sketch, 3D modelling, Rendering, Presentation.