Recycled plastic child’s chair designed by Jane Atfield.
Identifier
FPF416
Title
Recycled plastic child’s chair designed by Jane Atfield.
Date
Designed 1995, made in 1996
Description
A child’s chair made from multi-coloured recycled polyethylene, designed by Jane Atfield and made by Made of Waste.
Full Description
This is the child’s version of Atfield’s recycled plastic chair, also in the Collection (see FPF 415). The chair is elemental in form, rigid, square and upright, with very little attempt at ergonomics or comfort. It is essentially a statement about sustainability in the use of materials for consumer products. Together with the adult version (FPF 415), it was designed by Jane Atfield between 1992-5 as part of a range of furniture made of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a material initially developed in the United States. Working with Colin Williamson (plastics expert and chairman of the British Plastics Federation in London) and a plywood pressing firm, Stanley Smith Ltd in West London, Atfield began manufacturing HDPE in Britain in 1994, under her company, Made of Waste. Plastic bottles were collected from the local community, sorted by colour to achieve different effects, then chipped into small fragments and fused under heat and pressure to form a sheet material. This was then cut to make the various parts of the chairs and these were screwed together. This chair was produced by Made of Waste in c.1996.
Jane Atfield (b. 1964) studied architecture at the Polytechnic of Central London and furniture design at the London College of Furniture. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1992 with an MA in furniture design. In 1993 Atfield set up a company, Made of Waste, pioneering post-consumer recycled plastics. Since then she has worked as a design consultant and university lecturer, has exhibited internationally, and has examples of her work in several museums. Atfield was shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Furniture in 1999.
See also FPF415, a matching adult’s chair.
Jane Atfield (b. 1964) studied architecture at the Polytechnic of Central London and furniture design at the London College of Furniture. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1992 with an MA in furniture design. In 1993 Atfield set up a company, Made of Waste, pioneering post-consumer recycled plastics. Since then she has worked as a design consultant and university lecturer, has exhibited internationally, and has examples of her work in several museums. Atfield was shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Furniture in 1999.
See also FPF415, a matching adult’s chair.
Condition
Good
Materials
Polyethylene (recycled plastic), fixed with Hex socket screws.
Physical Dimensions
H. 56
W. 26
D. 30
W. 26
D. 30
Provenance
Purchased for the Frederick Parker Collection from Jane Atfield in 2002.
Notes
Lesley Jackson, Modern British Furniture, Design since 1945, V&A Publishing 2013, p.203, fig. 238.
There is another example of the adult chair in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number: W.4-1996. See:
RCP2 chair | Atfield, Jane | V&A Explore The Collections
For details on Jane Atfield see: janeatfield.com
There is another example of the adult chair in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number: W.4-1996. See:
RCP2 chair | Atfield, Jane | V&A Explore The Collections
For details on Jane Atfield see: janeatfield.com
