American designs cardboard chair
As part of a competition for the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), Joseph Lyman created a chair solely comprised of corrugated cardboard that was placed in the top six designs at the AIAS Chair Affair. Lyman beat out 87 other contestants to gain the honour.
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His chair was displayed at the AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Los Angeles Lyman designed his chair after seeing a flier for the Chair Affair, but was initially too timid to enter his design in the competition. Only after his chair placed in the top 10 in a design contest sponsored by his local furniture design showroom, Vellum, did Lyman feel prepared for a national competition.
Since first designing the chair, Lyman has created 26 copies, 13 of which he sold for $60 a piece. He said now that the design has garnered national acclaim, he will raise the chair's price.
For the design process, Lyman said he was instructed to create an aesthetically pleasing, elevated, cardboard chair, while keeping in mind reproduction abilities. The AIAS Chair Affair originated as a way to promote sustainability by offering alternative uses for cardboard: "It's inspired other people to think of ways to creatively use waste products," he explained.