Well Proven Collection
Trips are indeed beneficial. Who knew that a trip to the volcanic island of Stromboli, a land of black rocks and sunsets could turn into a source of inspiration for someone who would give us a brand new green material?
Marjan Van Aubel and James Shaw of the ‘Transnatural’ have come up with another new material that perfectly reflects their firm’s agenda of “balancing of nature and technology.” This material caught a lot of attention while chairs made of it were displayed under the name, ‘Well proven collection’ during Dutch Reflexion Exhibition at Design Brussels in September 2015. Nearly 50 – 80 % of timber is lost in the form of shavings, sawdust, or chippings while processing, to turn it into something useful. After discovering this, the story of the ‘well-proven collection’ started. The firm started its experimentation and very soon got successful in transforming the useless into useful. Mixing of bio-resin and timber waste gave rise to a peculiar chemical reaction, which expanded around five times to finally result in a foamy material that’s strong as well as light in weight. They carried out these experiments several times, using different mixes and different sized shavings from different workshop machines, adding color dyes in order to produce a suitable material. The underside of the seating acted as a mold to fashion this material into the shape of a chair seat. It involved using hands for shifting materials according to the strength requirements of different parts. The reaction gives the collection an organic and natural look and is also green. It resembles the pattern of magma coming out of a volcano and appears life, as if the reaction is still going on. As it hasn’t been repeated exactly, no foam is the exact replica of others, let it be in terms of appearance, comfort, or composition which further adds uniqueness to each and every design.
By: Kushal Jain
