Taiwanese material researcher and functional object maker based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Pao Hui Kao, has created a stunning Paper Pleats furniture collection – made of layers of paper bound together with rice glue. The Paper Pleats collection consists of stools, coffee tables, a dining table set, shelving, a space decider, and a ceiling lamp, with each piece made solely of paper.
As the paper absorbs the rice water, it shrinks and wrinkles, creating a strong, rigid structure the designer is able to mold into furniture
Born out of Hui Kao’s sensitivity to chemical and a desire to create recyclable products, the original inspiration for the collection became from the designer’s realization how a fragile and common material, paper, can be turned into a strong, solid building material by simply using water. Each furniture piece is made from tracing paper that is soaked in rice water, which acts as a 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.
Each furniture piece is made from tracing paper that is soaked in rice water, which acts as a glue, binding the sheets of paper together.
“Paper is one of the most common materials in our everyday life. Ever since paper has been created, thousands of years ago, it has more or less remained the same: a flat sheet. Is this the reason why we are annoyed when paper becomes crumpled after we spill some liquid on it because we get used to its flat form and never imagine paper to take on any other form, and in doing so we’ve restricted its potential?” Hui Kao writes.
To achieve a lasting object that can support the needed weight, that still looks and feels weightless and fragile, Hui Kao technique is to create many tubes of paper, in nonconforming sizes, which the rice water bounds together.
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 learned how to team up with the material to design the object – Hui Kao writes.
“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 learned how to team up with the material to design the object”, Hui Kao writes.
Images © Pao Hui Kao