Furniture made of steel and recycled parachutes

Design agency Layer and Ræburn collaborated on a collection of furniture pieces that use recycled parachute material and welded steel frames.

Throughout the design process, Layer and Ræburn explored Ræburn’s archives and the way the studio used surplus parachutes to create fashion. Those ideas were then used to explore furniture design. The two studios focused on surplus ex-military parachutes and aircraft brake parachutes. Parachutes are made of ultra-thin ripstop nylon, which would lead to durable furniture.

The Canopy collection, as it is called, comprises of four rocking chairs and two screens. The furniture is made of welded steel, prototyped and manufactured by furniture manufacturer Allermuir.

The rocking chair frames are used as a base, around which the fabric is wrapped, slung, and hung within to create padding, webbing and cover solutions with simple fixation points. The screens play with light and the way it travels through the translucent parachute material. The colour blocked design comes from the parachutes’ structure and stitch lines.

“The Canopy Collection is tuned into the semantics of a parachute in flight,” the studios state, “the lounge chair gently rocks back and forth whilst the re-configurable screen takes inspiration from the section and construction of a wing.”

The collection was launched during London Design Festival (14-22 September).

Photos: Layet / Ræburn