From incredible corrugated sculptures to eco-friendly furniture, we’re constantly amazed by inspired new uses for cardboard. The rather ubiquitous brown material has proven itself time and time again as a versatile material for creating objects of wonder, and the latest creations to catch our eye are the works of Argentina-based artist Santiago Morahan. His Diseno Cartonero (roughly translated to “Garbage Collector Design”) project creates functional and elegant pieces of furniture from cast-off cardboard scavenged by garbage collectors.

Besides being nice to look at, Morahan’s pieces exemplify a certain humanitarian spirit through his own version of fair trade. The artist collects his recycled cardboard materials by purchasing it from garbage collectors (or cartoneros) at a higher price than they would receive at a recycling facility. Morahan then makes all his pieces by hand, so that each becomes a unique creative expression.

A thoroughly eco-friendly process from the collection of materials to the crafting of each piece, Morahan showcases the beauty and functionality of a material that is often considered trash.

+ Diseno Cartonero

+ Sustentable Festival

Via Treehugger

2 Responses to “Diseno Cartonero: Recycled Cardboard Eco-Furniture”

yoanna8 says:

June 5, 2009 at 6:19 pm

don’t EVER get it WET, lol
luluxxxrox says:

June 27, 2011 at 7:21 am

Hey everyone. I think these designs are amazing and they look VERY eco-friendly. I wish I could make stuff like that, but I’m not very good at designing things. Mine wouldn’t be even be half as good as yours. Hope to see more soon. I’m glad I looked up cardboard then