An office chair redesigned for an 85% reduction in energy usage and 79% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in production, transport and disposal.
Designed for ENGS 171: Industrial Ecology
Spring 2012, Dartmouth College
Collaborators: Max Langford, Lucas Sanford-Long, Paul Rosenfield, Scott Sottosanti
Our task was to redesign an office chair for improved eco-efficiency. Our preliminary eco-audit showed that the main contributor to energy and carbon inefficiency was the large quantity of nylon and polyurethane used in the seat, back and supports. To combat the problem, we switched to a bamboo and sisal-based design, and reconfigured the seat and back to use a flexible mesh rather than thick padding for support and comfort.
We achieved considerable gains in energy and carbon efficiency, and replaced non-recyclable parts with biodegradable ones.
Staples Lockridge Chair image courtesy of the Staples website.
Sharang Biswas -Archive of ITP Work 