Bell
Designed by:
Grcic K
Co-Designed by:
n a
Designer:
Konstantin Grcic
Co-Designer:
n a
Country of Origin (Designer):
Germany
Date of Design:
2020
Date of Manufacture:
2020
Decade:
2020s
Region:
Europe
Significance:
Recycled post industrial PP (from manufactures own facility). Very light design
Manufacturer:
Magis
Country of Origin (Manufacturer):
Italy
Material:
Polypropylene
Process:
Injection moulded
Monobloc:
Yes
Cantilever:
No
Renewable Carbon:
Yes
ERPR Score:
18
ERPR Rating:
Excellent
Weight:
2.7
Note:
The Bell Chair was designed by Konstantin Grcic for Italian manufacturer, Magis and launched it 2020. It is significant as it achieved the highest score in my comparison of plastic chairs designed with sustainability in mind. A well-defined brief was cited by both the designer and a representative from the manufacturer as crucial to the success of this project. Magis specified their requirement for a competitively-priced, injection-moulded, monobloc chair in polypropylene. Additionally, the brief dictated that the amount of material used should be minimised, together with the cycle time required on the injection moulding machine, as these are key contributors to costs. Finally, the brief demanded that the chair, when stacked, should occupy the same footprint as a single chair, improving transport efficiencies. Key to the design’s success was forming a close relationship between the designer and the third-party engineering partner responsible for making the moulds, pre-mould testing, and production management. The egg-shape shell was arrived at quite quickly, as the most efficient solution to weight and strength requirements. Similarly, the shape of the legs was informed by previous efficient monobloc solutions, dating back to the first sheet metal chairs from the 1920s and Henry Massonnet’s design for the Fauteuil 300 plastic monobloc in 1972. Having quickly arrived at the basic shape it took nearly a year to perfect the final design, incorporating feedback from the mould flow analysis while the project was imbued with comfort and beauty. Surprisingly the use of recycled plastic was introduced relatively late in the design process. The injection moulding company was developing this material (using its own PP production waste) at the same time this project was underway. The Bell chair is only available with a choice of 4 colours (up from 3 when launched) and no variants to the basic design are available, limiting the appeal of this design. The chair can, according to Magis, be recycled at the end of its useful life, but the absence of a Resin Identification Code and the fact that a small amount of fibreglass has been added to the material makes this unlikely to happen in the real world.
Image Credit:
Magis