Werner Aisslinger‘s Hemp Chair is the world’s first monobloc chair made from over 70 per cent natural fibers and produced through a totally organic process. It has been created by ‘compression molding,’ a manufacturing process developed for the car industry. It accounts for low-cost mass production of 3D objects with high mechanical resistance and low weight.
The raw and renewable materials .. hemp .. and .. kenaf .. are compressed with a water-based thermoset binder Acrodur, which is strong, easy to mold and eco-friendly. The only by-product of the procedure is water.
The result is a lightweight yet durable composite that’s also environmentally safe to produce.
Today’s consumers are striving towards a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle that is in harmony with the environment. They want innovative products such as electric scooters and hybrid cars as well as new, environmentally compatible, light and durable materials.
According to Werner Aisslinger, the development of the “Hemp Chair” marks a turning point in this trend. ‘Design history is driven by new technologies and material innovation, for us designers, the advent of these technologies has always been the starting point for new objects and typologies in design.’
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Materials and Processes
The sustainable sheet material of the *hemp chair* allows the use of more than 70% natural fibers in combination with BASF’s water-based acrylic resin Acrodur.
Unlike with classic reactive resins, this method releases no organic substances such as phenol or formaldehyde during the cross-linking process. The only by-product of the curing procedure is water. Furthermore, the industrial process of compression molding accounts for low-cost mass production of three-dimensional objects with high mechanical resistance and very low specific weight.
werner-aisslinger-hemp-chair-prototype
This production method is widespread in the automobile industry. Natural fiber composites are often used in lightweight components such as door linings, glove compartments or rear shelves.
The Hemp Chair, with its soft curves and its bead structure, embodies a new approach to this complex type of chair
The Hemp Chair is designed in the tradition of monobloc stackable chairs, which have often been made of reinforced plastics at the time they were launched. Shaping a complete chair structure from a thin layer of material is one of the most challenging ways to design and engineer a chair.
Poetry Happens Exhibition
Fabien Dumas, Tim Brauns and Werner Aisslinger
The Hemp Chair debuts in the exhibition ‘Poetry Happens‘ curated by Werner Aisslinger, Tim Brauns and Fabien Dumas.
It stands to be a display of archetypal prototyped objects or installations with a narrative design quality whether it be through the ‘poetry of making’, ‘poetry of collages’, ‘poetry of prototyping’, ‘poetry of spaces and installations’ or the ‘poetry of sustainability. Here, designers, architects and artists give their personal approach and interpretation of their work in relation to poetry.
Included in the exhibition are projects by E27, ettlabenn, formfjord, harald gottschling, mathias hahn, xavier mañosa, marre moerel, clemens tissi, maria volokhova, mark braun and fabien dumas.
Charles Bukowski: ‘Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.’
Design as a creative discipline always floats between pure culture and an applied profession that fulfills industrial needs.
Our exhibition project emphasizes the experimental ‘making’-oriented cultural path of design. As every year, Milan is the best place to showcase these new concepts and researches. Our exhibition POETRY HAPPENS displays authentic, archetypal projects, prototypes and installations with a narrative design quality. Poetry as a headline gives every invited designer, architect and artist the freedom of his / her personal approach and interpretation of his / her work related to poetry.
Poetry transferred into the world of design can be:
* The poetry of making by emphasizing the personality of the maker or the unique and individual strategy of the creator behind an object.
* The poetry of collages combines readymades or parts, principles and mechanics of existing ‘everyday’-products into hybrid objects with a new life-cycle that, unlike standard industrial production, also shows signs of usage. The poetry of prototyping: process models, mock-ups and regular prototypes generate the story and evolution of creating – a narrative quality with often a bigger impact than the final product.
* The poetry of materials and technology experiments is the engine of the continuous evolution of design. The history of design would be blank and just a formal discipline without the quantum leaps in materials and technologies.
* The poetry of spaces and installations expands the pure object’s existence into space and environments which finally every object has to deal with.
* The poetry of sustainability begins when design objects tend to achieve an archetypal long lasting quality with a maximal visual continuity: classic pieces and long runners in the market won’t absorb new resources.
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About Werner Asslinger
Werner Aisslinger lives and works in Berlin.
He was born in 1964
He studied Design at University HdK Berlin
1989-1992 Feelance designer at Jasper Morrison and Ron Arad, London and at Studio de Lucchi, Milan
1993 Running “Studio Aisslinger” in Berlin, developping products, design concepts and brand-architecture
1994 till 1997 Visiting teacher at HdK Berlin and Lahti Design Institute, Finnland
1998 to 2005 Professor at product design department at Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe
The works of the designer Werner Aisslinger cover the spectrum of experimental, artistic approaches, including industrial design and architecture.
He delights in making use of the latest technologies and has helped introduce new materials and techniques to the world of product design like in his unique gel furniture with the collection“soft cell“ and the chaise „soft“ for Zanotta in 2000.
The “Juli chair (Cappellini)” was the first item of furniture to use a new type of foam called “polyurethane integral foam” and became the first German chair design to be selected as a permanent exhibit at the MoMA in New York since 1964.
In the process he has created striking designs and received awards from all over the world — from Milan’s Compasso d’Oro to the Design Prize of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Red Dot Award or FX Award in the UK.
LoftCube
Werner Aisslinger´s Loftcube –project became one of the most discussed modular and transportable housing projects within the last years. His work is exhibited in the permanent collections of international museums such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the French Fonds National d´Art Contemporain in Paris, the Museum Neue Sammlung in Munich, and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil, Germany.
….. Imagine a place ….… where your spirit can fly and the windows are 360° wide. A place where you can work, relax and share life with your friends. Imagine the endless possibilities of thrilling spaces and exceptional panoramas; a treasure of unique moments. An exclusive mobile loft, an extraordinary living space. Attractive and convenient for temporary or everyday lifestyle. Futuristic architecture, space enough for air and light, individual design options, high-quality materials, lightweight and easy to install. The LoftCube combines spectacular views, light-flooded spaces, cosy warmth and innovative technology. “Feel at home – even when you are a long way from home” is Werner Aisslinger’s quintessence. A wide range of innovative ideas have gone into the development of the LoftCube in order to create this environment for you. The result is a set-up time of only three days including the interior. The inviting new living space can be used for working, living, and relaxing. Step back from the world and still remain close to nature. Welcome to the LoftCube!
FinCube by Werner Aisslinger
