Paper and furniture design is rarely thought of in the same sentence, as the strength the object can behold is often questioned. And even though there’s great cardboard furniture being designed, and it usually has a distinct feel of lightness, mobility and the ecological value, it is often missing the sense of high design. However, in the modern 固 Gù Chair by From Yuhang design collective, bamboo paper pulp is used in the finest way!
From Yuhang is a multicultural collective of three designers: Zhang Lei from China, Christoph John from Germany and Jovana Bogdanovic from Serbia. One of From Yuhang’s ambitions is to apply local paper making techniques to furniture design. Their idea is “to take the material out of its original context to introduce it to a current living surrounding”. The Gù chair, which was unveiled at last years Milan Design Week, is one example of this. Done with the simple technique of layers of bamboo paper pulp being pressed together until the seat is strong enough to support weight, it gives everything but the feel of fragility. The way the edges of the paper have been left rough and unfinished is very modern and very fitting to the current trend of industrial and sleek interiors we’ve been seeing lately. 
The Gù chair celebrates the craft of traditional Chinese bamboo paper making through sustainable design. Made entirely from renewable fast-growing materials, the furniture represents the fusion of tradition craft and contemporary design. The combination of a delicate-looking shell of moulded bamboo pulp with a sturdy untreated Beech base, makes the chair a perfect example of great green design, without sacrificing its design value.
The latest additions to the Gù chair collection are these sweet candy colored chairs in pink, yellow and mint green. Just hitting the spot on this years color trends!
At Design & Paper, each of our team member has her own color, shown for example on business cards, in the introductions (see here!) etc. And they just happen to be pink, yellow and green. So we think it would be more than fitting for each of us to have our own office chairs, of course made of paper, in our own colors!
What do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Source: Yuhang