Designer Roc H Biel combines classical inspiration with modern material innovation, creating furniture from upcycled beech wood dust. Dust Order is a sculptural furniture collection that transforms “the grandeur of Corinthian columns” into modern minimalist designs. The series shows how waste materials and digital production can create elegant, sustainable pieces that feel both ancient and futuristic.

Transforming Wood Waste Into Functional Art

At the heart of Dust Order lies a creative use of material that addresses sustainability. The upcycled beech wood furniture collection is crafted from upcycled beech wood dust—a fine, powdery byproduct often discarded in woodworking workshops. Instead of allowing this waste to end up in landfills, Biel compresses and shapes the dust into durable furniture pieces. This approach not only reduces waste but demonstrates how circular design can yield sophisticated and expressive forms.

The chair features layers of compacted beech dust stacked into a single, monolithic structure. Its surface resembles stone or sand casting, with a granular texture. Despite its appearance, the chair is surprisingly light, offering both visual mass and physical airiness. The geometry shifts gently from base to top—transitioning from octagonal to circular to square forms. Strategic openings allow light to pass through, creating rhythm and movement in the design, resulting in an optical play between heaviness and levity.

Classical Forms Reimagined for Modern Interiors

The modular desk system extends Biel’s exploration of classical architecture. Inspired by the logic of column construction—comprising capitals, shafts, and entablatures—the desk consists of three individual modules. These modules can be easily reconfigured, allowing the user to adapt the system into a stool, bench, side table, desk, or dining table. Each element serves as a flexible building block, inviting creative spatial arrangements.

“I treat classical motifs as raw material, reshaping them through a modern lens until they feel both familiar and strangely futuristic,” says Biel. “People see something that looks ancient or heavy, but when they touch it, everything shifts. It’s about that moment of wonder, where material, memory, and perception collide.”

A Dialogue Between the Physical and the Surreal

Dust Order also plays with visual perception. The pieces appear almost digitally rendered, blurring the line between the virtual and the tangible. This surreal effect is enhanced by the choice of location for the collection’s photography: a dramatic Welsh slate quarry, the highest in the UK. Once a site of heavy industrial extraction, the quarry’s sharp, black landscape provides a stark backdrop for the smooth, sand-coloured furniture.

Source: Roc H Biel, Designboom
Photos: Roc H Biel