‘Chair 03VXX’ by Samuel Aguirre emphasises design ingenuity above resource reliance

Is utilising commercially available materials a viable solution geared towards design ingenuity and industriousness?

Samuel Aguirre, a furniture designer and the founder of design studio Samindaman, aims to answer this question through his debut collection of chair designs called Chair 03VXX. The eclectic-looking chairs are designed using starch and fibre, made to last indoors as long as the user desires while being compostable in less than a year. The Chair 03VXX collection also explores the many uses of natural and compostable materials across the fabrication spectrum, from handicrafts to mass manufacturing. The usage of publicly accessible materials is deliberate, revealing what is currently feasible at scale, and directly addressing our reliance on oil, as evidence that our challenge is not one of resources but of design ingenuity and industriousness.

Aguirre asserts that due to rapid rates of industrialisation, fossil fuels are now being employed to produce product designs that are only consumed for a small portion of their actual, useful lives. In addition to where and how resources have been sourced, society must also take into account how long they will be deployed and what will happen to them after that. "There is a disconnect where furniture is used for five to ten years but is produced to exist for hundreds of years. Society needs to consider not only where materials come from and how they are sourced, but also how long they will be used, where they go at the end of life, and how the entire lifecycle will impact the stakeholders. The need for truly circular furniture only increases with time. The effect of continued dependence on petro-based 'solutions' is potentially catastrophic, with severe consequences for the entirety of our planet and the generations to come," he says, explaining the genesis and inspiration behind the furniture design collection.

To mitigate the environmental impact of material choices, the process of crafting furniture entails extensive material study into the origin, composition, manufacturing, life-cycle, and end-of-life analyses. Chair 03VXX explores the diverse uses of natural materials by employing a variety of fibres including hemp fibre, cotton fibre, and post-consumer paper pulp. Through the collection thereon, Aguirre succinctly highlights the importance of sustainability in the global design landscape.

"I find myself motivated by the dilution and misappropriation of the word 'sustainability' as a marketing tool to promote greenwashing, and furthering the general public's naivety around what it means to be 'environmentally conscious.' In reality, sustainability is a broad term, not unique to any environmental movement or industry. It is simply an ability that can be maintained at a certain rate or level. In the context of the current environmental crisis, sustainability can refer to the goal of safely coexisting with the natural world for an indefinite period of time. Within the context of my work and my goals, achieving a sustainable outcome is to develop means and processes for production that benefit all stakeholders—the environment, the economy, and the community," the product designer elaborates.

Aguirre reveals how a wholesome, father-son project led to the material ideation of the circular design collection—"This work began as a project with my son to make paper mache helmets and toys. We were originally motivated to make our process and material compostable, for clear, conscious, and easy disposal. Over time, we found the objects we made to be extremely resilient and structurally sound—so much so, that the toys we made a couple of years ago are still in the same condition as when we made them."

The process of bringing Aguirre's first design collection to life involved a deep reflection on the inherent environmental benefits of papermaking crafts, to inform the means and methods of developing three-dimensional, structural objects. The fabrication, which finds roots in conventional papermaking materials and procedures, was used as a springboard to investigate cutting-edge technologies for structure, mark-making, and surface treatment. A blend of fibres and starch was ground into powder, while the pulp was treated like clay and cast into three-dimensional moulds or moulded onto skeleton structures. After being air dried for one to two weeks, the items were completed with a natural surface treatment to protect them against water, oil, and other pollutants.

"I chose to design a chair as a starting point because I wanted to produce a piece of furniture that experiences the most ‘trauma’ in day-to-day life. I figured if I could start at the hard end of the spectrum and truly understand how to design for heavy use and high traffic, designing structures and shapes for mirrors, credenzas, and tables would come naturally," he shares. Papermaking craft has a plethora of domains waiting to be explored which the product designer plans to delve into for future design endeavours. “I plan to continue my research in the direction of paper and explore novel techniques for structure, mark making, and surface treatment," Aguirre reiterates.

Text by Ria Jha