Japanese designer Fumi Masuda, who is responsible for the Pile Chair (an Inhabitat favorite) is the director of the EcoDesign Institute, a professor at the Design Department at Tokyo Zokei University, President of Open House Inc., a member of the Japan Design Consultant Association and founder of the O2 Global Network in Japan. So you can imagine how glad we were when he made some time to talk to us about green design. We recently had the chance to speak to Fumi about his history with design and he offered some interesting perspectives on the sustainable design market. Read on for his thoughts.

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Post tags: eco design, Fumi Masuda, green design, inhabitat interview, Japanese Designer, Japanese Furniture Design, Japanese Sustainable Designer, Open House Inc, Recycled Materials

For many people, there’s nothing worse than the thought of moving. But now at least you can find some solace in the moving process knowing that any discarded furniture may have a second life as Fumi Masuda’s stunning Pile Chair, which is built out of old and discarded furniture collected by movers. The idea came from a Japanese moving company, Mover, that provides a service to collect discarded furniture (think of all the sofas and chairs you see strewn on the sidewalk). As an alternative to disposal, the company figured that the furniture could be used as raw material for new designs, instead of the end product. Fumi Masuda’s Pile Chair emerged from a collaborative project with students and teachers from the Design Department at Tokyo Zokei University and Mover.

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Post tags: Fumi Masuda, Japanese Designer, Japanese Furniture Design, Japanese Sustainable Designer, Open House Inc

The desert beaches of southern coast of São Paulo, Brazil, are places of inspiration for environmentally-sensitive architect and designer Carlos Motta. In the 1970’s he spent a lot of time at the beaches, collecting driftwood carried in on the tide. Today, in his office, in Vila Madalena, São Paulo, Motta developes and produces furniture, sculpture, and architectural products all from recycled wood. Using driftwood, recycled wood from demolitions, pieces found in shores and rivers, as well as material certified by FSO, decreases the environmental footprint of his work.


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Post tags: Beachwood furniture, Brazilian furniture designer, Brazilian sustainable furniture designer, Carlos Motta, Driftwood furniture, Gallery Mandalian Paillard in Paris, Recycled wood furniture