Developed in collaboration with Swedish material pioneer PaperShell, the chair features a shell made entirely from biogenic material, which is engineered for complete circularity
Material innovation and the circular economy has come on in leaps and bounds, with brands eager to collaborate with innovative producers to create pieces that are not only beautiful but are kind to the environment and have an interesting story to boot. To reflect this growing and welcome trend, Fredericia has partnered with PaperShell, a Swedish material innovation company developing next-generation, bio-based materials for a circular economy.
Its beautifully patinated product is made from multiple layers of FSC-certified kraft paper, sourced entirely from biological residue in the Nordic forestry and agricultural industries, and impregnated with a natural binder. The result is a fossil-free, high-performance material with the structural properties of fibre composites. Now Fredericia has applied PaperShell for its Pato Paper Chair, created by Danish designer Hee Welling and Icelandic designer Gudmundur Ludvik as part of the the Pato Collection, a family of multi-functional chairs suited to lounging, dining and working.
The Pato Paper Chair is not only aesthetically pleasing, immensely tactile and durable, but actively circular in its conception, materials and afterlife. When the chair reaches the end of its lifecycle, the shell can be transformed into high-grade biochar through pyrolysis, a process that locks away carbon and enriches soil, closing the loop with a potentially carbon-negative footprint. “We designed a system that is fully circular and closes the material loop, while being completely biogenic so we use no fossil resources in its making,” explains Fabian Hardt, head of sustainability at PaperShell. The material can offer a 98 per cent reduction in environmental impact over virgin or fibre composites.
Each seat bears unique tonal and textural variations, ranging from deep black to warm reddish-brown, creating a tactile, organic finish. “Every chair is unique. When I first touched the material, I had the feeling of touching leather,” says Hee Welling, who works to create solutions that unite aesthetics, function and material awareness. “Just a warm feeling and also sitting on it, it feels natural – it’s just pure nature.”
Image Courtesy of Fredericia
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