London designer Tom Robinson used 100 per cent recycled plastic from e-waste to produce his Evolve Chair, which aims to give the manmade material a more natural feel. The black chair is constructed from recycled plastic sheets made by Netherlands-based The Good Plastics Company from e-waste, such as discarded laptops and computers.
Its colour comes from the black plastic of the electronics, which is crushed and granulated before being formed into plastic panels. The designer believes this process gives the material a look and feel that isn’t usually associated with plastic. “This new reprocessed panel resembles something closer to a porous wood or stone, rather than something artificial,” said Robinson.
He wanted to highlight this aspect of the material, which he initially came across during early workshop tests. These revealed that the deeper into the panels he milled, using a CNC machine, the darker the semi-porous layers got, creating a more organic effect. “Evolve’s design was born from a need to present recycled plastics in a way that people could actually want to have it in their homes – whether it be in a flat or farmhouse kitchen,” Robinson told Dezeen.
“Plastic by its very nature is considered industrial, machine-made and artificial – it feels quite fitting and important to show ‘recycled’ plastics as something that can appear more natural, crafted and synonymous with the interior landscapes of today.”