Royal College of Art graduate Seongyong Lee has developed a process for making wooden tubes from veneer, which he uses to make lightweight furniture.

Called Plytube, the project employs a process similar to that used in making cardboard tubes, with the laminates wrapped around and hardened with glue.

Lee developed hollow joints transforming the material into a series of tables and stools.

The Royal College of Art Show Two continues until 4 July.

Here's some further information from Seongyong Lee:

Plytube is a new way of tubing wood using the similar principal of making paper tube but with some more process to harden the wooden tube which I made.

As the principal seems obvious but haven't really been tried as real object, it has given me much more interest and enthusiasm for a year and half.

Plytube is accurate wooden tube, very light but strong, long lasting as for the value of plywood and acceptable with all kinds of tooling and finishing for wood.

If it is on manufacturing, the diameter, thickness, colour, type of wood and even the section of the shape will be able to be customized. Ultimately, it could also be used for architectural material as well as for life goods.

I made some furniture series which should be light.

You will see how light but strong the furniture which are made with minimal material could be.

For instance, the weight of the stool is 820g even though it is a proper sized stool and with rigid structure.

Each furniture shows the good things of plytube such as the structural rigidity, new aesthetic of joints and finish for the stool, extremely strong things for the bench and the hollowness of the tube which is used for a mobile phone charger cable pathway for the small tables.

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