Nomadic Furniture Super Stars!

As part of our study of environmentally friendly design we researched, developed, and constructed furniture entirely out of cardboard. The objective of the project was to get us thinking about reusability and repurposing what we currently think of as waste by creating furniture that is currently made from wood out of cardboard. It had to be a marketable finished piece that is clean and professionally branded. The requirements for the project are as follows:
-Made 100% from cardboard
-No ink can show on the outside
-Must be to scale
-Function in the same way as the wooden version
-One colour and not painted
-Have a logo in either full colour or B&W

A few of the strongest pieces were made by Morgan K, Alex, and Clara who made a lamp, a chair, and a versatile shelf, respectively. These three pieces stood out amongst all the rest because they took the assignment to the next level.


Morgan's lamp was so precisely constructed that you can imagine seeing it on a store shelf. Each circle is exactly the same size, creating a professional piece that is definitely marketable. A working lightbulb completes the lamp and adds the perfect finishing touch. The design is a nice balance between recycled and modern art. His logo, birch trees inverted on a green circle with a product name of TALLTREE fits the style of the lamp which is made from trees and is tall and thin.

Alex built the only chair in the class, which required hours of time and effort. It was constructed so soundly that it held two people at the same time. While not as nomadic as preferred, the chair held up well and was a huge hit during our photoshoot. A strong part of the design is that it uses a lot of the wasted cardboard that would just end up in landfills if not used. The more cardboard used the better in order to keep it from the landfills since cardboard can only be recycled so many times.

The shelf created by Clara is so versatile it can be a shelf, a table, end tables, or storage units. Designed as four separate units, the 'clover' can be arranged however necessary. Stacked creates shelves, around in a circle is a coffee table, separately are end tables or storage cubes or magazine racks. Her logo is a clever representation of the shape of the pieces and the eco-friendly aspect. Of 'clover' the 'ver' is in green as reference to the French vert meaning green.


All three of these are marketable pieces of furniture that serve a useful purpose of replacing wood furniture with cardboard in order to reuse and repurpose waste. They are professionally constructed and have proper branding to be sold in stores.