Šimon Kern found an unconventional use for leaf litter: green furniture. The Slovakian artist created Beleaf, a biodegradable chair made from recycled leaves, bio-resin, and steel. Developed during his studies at the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, the Beleaf chair was constructed as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic furnishing.

Kern crafted the seat from mixing leaf litter with bio-resin, made mostly from leftover cooking oil, and pressing the mixture into a mold. Once hardened and sanded, the molded seat is set atop a tubular steel skeleton. The strong tubular frame symbolizes a tree’s trunk and branches that support the leaves.

Kern says that if the seat breaks it can be reused as fertilizer for a tree. New leaves can be taken from that same tree to craft a new seat. “My project is focused on practical use of garbage leaves from the cities in the furniture industry,” said Kern. “If we will believe and use all our powers we can switch from the plastic to the leaves. You just need to beleaf, that there is a way how we can change this world.”

Article from inhabitat.com

by Lucy Wang