Cardboard chairs

Cardboard seems to have more uses than just storage because Jonathan Coop, an industrial design major, is being honoured for his cardboard chair design.

After reviewing 171 cardboard chair designs from 11 universities and colleges, the judges of the American Institute of Architecture Students 2009 Chair Affair Design Competition chose Coop’s chair design as one of the top six designs. All six finalists will have their chairs displayed at the AIAS 2009 National Convention and Design Exposition in San Francisco on April 30. A second panel will look at the top six designs and choose those who win first, second and third place, while the three others will receive honourable mentions. All six will be displayed at the National Building Museum this summer. This was Coop’s first try at making something functional out of cardboard. Cardboard is made from a naturally renewable resource and has the best recycling rate of any packaging material used today. “I wanted a simple form that transitioned from the armrest into the backrest,” Coop said. Coop used a cookie-cutter stamp, razor, glue, and hammer, and voilà! Thirty hours and 260 layers of cardboard later, he had built a chair. All the students in Coop’s class were required to build cardboard chairs, but entering the competition was optional. The Chair Affair Design competition is meant to challenge students and also introduce the students to the cardboard industry, which has career opportunities for students graduating in architecture and design. Industrial design is a true passion for Coop.