6 Strategies for Designing Circular Furniture

12-Jan-2022

Climate change and socio-economic inequalities confirm that our throwaway economic system and culture aren’t working for either the environment, people, or businesses. How can we transform this into a new system in which we eradicate waste, regenerate nature and keep resources in use? How can we envision these changes in different industries, including furniture?



In our first article for DesignWanted, we strive to answer these questions with the circular economy in mind. We reflect on how design is at the heart of this economic system, and is a powerful tool ready to repurpose everything from houses to furniture.


The Sofa ForLife can be assembled and disassembled within 10 minutes using nothing but a screwdriver – ©Sofa ForLife

In the article published last December “6 strategies to follow when designing circular furniture” – we share different approaches to design furniture for a circular future: 


1) DESIGN TO CLOSE LOOPS

2) SHIFT FROM PRODUCTS TO SERVICES

3) EXTENDED PRODUCT LIFE

4) CHOOSE SAFE & CIRCULAR MATERIALS

5) DESIGN WITH LESS

6) GO MODULAR


To illustrate each approach, we feature some ground-breaking designs from well-known brands and talented furniture-makers. 


Be inspired. Kick-off 2022 with this great circular piece we were proud to co-author with the enthusiastic crew at SOMA_studiomilano


We couldn’t be more thrilled to have wrapped up 2021 as one of DesignWanted's guest writers. With their fresh design stories, insights, projects, and reports, nowadays DesignWanted is a point of reference for the design world and a great platform for sharing the regenerative power of design!

Learn more at DesignWanted.


Click here if you missed our first article in this series about How the Circular Economy Keeps Your Sofa Out of the Landfill.