Milan 2011: London studio Doshi Levien will present this injection-moulded wooden chair for Italian brand Moroso at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan next week.

Called Impossible Wood, the piece is made of a thermoplastic composite comprising 80% wood fibre and 20% polypropylene.

Perched on metal legs, the seat shell appears to be made from strips of wood but in fact the shape can only be formed by injection moulding.

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The information below is from Doshi Levien:

Impossible wood

A chair designed by Doshi Levien for Moroso.

We found a mouldable wood material that has very distinct visual and tactile properties. It is a thermoplastic composite made using 80% wood fibre and 20% polypropylene and it can be processed using conventional injection moulding machines. The pressure and heat from the mould releases moisture from the wood fibre which in turn burns on the surface of the aluminium tool, creating a random, leather-like tarnished effect.

Inspired by the characteristics of this material, we decided to create a chair that references the genre of light, graceful, bent wood frame chairs but would be impossible to make in any other way than by injection moulding, hence the name "impossible wood". We were intrigued by the depth and texture of the material that is the opposite of slick, homogenous, surface perfect plastic, currently used for most moulded chairs.

'Impossible wood' chair has a used, worn, raw and earthy quality that is timeless and natural. It also smells of wood. We looked at the work of Martin Puryear, an African American sculptor who made a piece called Cedar Lodge in 1977. This installation is constructed using thin, overlapping parallel strips of timber, bound together with horizontal rings. This informed the way we made our first prototypes for "Impossible wood". We adopted an improvised and constructed language to escape the controlled and fluid process usually applied to generating plastic forms.

The prototype for Impossible wood will be launched Salone and can be found at the Moroso stand. (Hall 16 Stand C23/D22)

See also:

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