First natural fiber monobloc chair
May 24, 2011 - Germany
The acclaimed designer Werner Aisslinger and BASF will be showcasing the world’s first monobloc chair made of natural fibers at the Material Vision 2011, the trade exhibition on materials for product development, design and architecture . The Hemp Chair has been designed for a lightweight manufacturing process stemming from the car industry: the renewable raw materials hemp and kenaf are compressed with the water-based thermoset binder Acrodur ® to form an eco-friendly, lightweight and yet strong composite. Aisslinger’s latest piece of furniture can be seen at booth K23 in hall 4.1.
New material - new design
Today’s consumers are striving towards a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle that is in harmony with the environment. They want innovative products as well as new, environmentally compatible, light and durable materials. “Design history is driven by new technologies and material innovation. They have always been the starting point for new objects and typologies in design,“ stated the Berliner designer Werner Aisslinger. The Hemp Chair is designed in the tradition of monobloc stackable chairs (monobloc = of one piece), which are often made of plastics. “For us it was important to show the versatility of natural fibers in combination with our binder”, said Dr. Michael Kalbe, Technical Marketing Dispersions for Fiber Bonding at BASF: “Werner Aisslinger’s creation combines eco-friendliness, functionality, form and optics.”
Acrodur: lightweight, stable and eco-friendly
BASF’s water-based acrylic resin Acrodur ® allows the use of more than 75 percent natural fibers for the Hemp Chair. Unlike with classic reactive resins, this method releases no organic substances such as phenol or formaldehyde during the cross-linking process. The only by-product of the curing procedure is water. Furthermore, the industrial process of compression molding accounts for low-cost mass production of three-dimensional objects with high mechanical resistance and very low specific weight. This production method is widespread in the automobile industry. Natural fiber composites are often used in lightweight components such as door linings, shelves and other interior trim parts.
About Werner Aisslinger
Born in Nördlingen, Germany in 1964, Werner Aisslinger is working and living in Berlin. In 1993 he set up his studio working in productdesign, conceptual design and brand architecture. He delights in making use of latest technologies and has helped introduce new materials and techniques to the world of product design like for his unique gel furniture. The "Juli chair" was the first piece of furniture made of polyurethane integral foam and became the first German chair to be selected as a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York since 1964. In the process he has created striking designs and received awards from all over the world — from Milan's Compasso d'Oro, to the Design Prize of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the Red Dot Award or FX Award in the UK. His work is permanent exhibited in international Museum collections like the MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the French Fonds National d´Art Contemporain in Paris or the Museum Neue Sammlung in Munich and the vitra design museum collection in Weil, Germany.
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of about €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109 ,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).
New material - new design
Today’s consumers are striving towards a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle that is in harmony with the environment. They want innovative products as well as new, environmentally compatible, light and durable materials. “Design history is driven by new technologies and material innovation. They have always been the starting point for new objects and typologies in design,“ stated the Berliner designer Werner Aisslinger. The Hemp Chair is designed in the tradition of monobloc stackable chairs (monobloc = of one piece), which are often made of plastics. “For us it was important to show the versatility of natural fibers in combination with our binder”, said Dr. Michael Kalbe, Technical Marketing Dispersions for Fiber Bonding at BASF: “Werner Aisslinger’s creation combines eco-friendliness, functionality, form and optics.”
Acrodur: lightweight, stable and eco-friendly
BASF’s water-based acrylic resin Acrodur ® allows the use of more than 75 percent natural fibers for the Hemp Chair. Unlike with classic reactive resins, this method releases no organic substances such as phenol or formaldehyde during the cross-linking process. The only by-product of the curing procedure is water. Furthermore, the industrial process of compression molding accounts for low-cost mass production of three-dimensional objects with high mechanical resistance and very low specific weight. This production method is widespread in the automobile industry. Natural fiber composites are often used in lightweight components such as door linings, shelves and other interior trim parts.
About Werner Aisslinger
Born in Nördlingen, Germany in 1964, Werner Aisslinger is working and living in Berlin. In 1993 he set up his studio working in productdesign, conceptual design and brand architecture. He delights in making use of latest technologies and has helped introduce new materials and techniques to the world of product design like for his unique gel furniture. The "Juli chair" was the first piece of furniture made of polyurethane integral foam and became the first German chair to be selected as a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York since 1964. In the process he has created striking designs and received awards from all over the world — from Milan's Compasso d'Oro, to the Design Prize of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the Red Dot Award or FX Award in the UK. His work is permanent exhibited in international Museum collections like the MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the French Fonds National d´Art Contemporain in Paris or the Museum Neue Sammlung in Munich and the vitra design museum collection in Weil, Germany.
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of about €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109 ,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).