Jean Nouvel’s So-So chair for Emeco is durable eco-design – made using the same process as chairs for the U.S. Navy.

At Paris Design Week recently, Jean Nouvel previewed his new collection: the So-So for Emeco. With a history of working alongside world-famous architects and designers, the U.S. chair company has previously collaborated with Frank Gehry, Sir Norman Foster and Philippe Starck.

The So-So chairs and stools are made of light, durable hand-brushed aluminum – one of Nouvel’s imperatives was that they weigh as little as possible. But they are also impressively eco: made from 80% recycled material, using both post-industrial and post-consumer waste.

The So-So collection is hand-produced at Emeco’s Hanover, Pennsylvania factory using the same 77-step process as the famous, ultra-hard-wearing 1944 Navy chairs, designed to “withstand water, salt air and sailors.” The collection was first conceived for, and shown at, the Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, for which Nouvel also designed the building, as well as most of the other furniture. We love the smooth curves and burnished effect – a successful Franco-American alliance.

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We’ve seen cat litter made from recycled paper and sawdust and wallets and purses made from recycled juice packs. But we never thought we’d see chairs made from recycled coffee grinds or plastic bottles – I guess we’ve now seen it all! Yes, two different companies have created sleek modern chairs from discarded drink materials.

The first, UK-based Re-worked, redirects coffee waste from landfills and uses it to make a new substance called Çurface. This versatile material has been used to make chairs (the legs are from salvaged wood) and the company is even hoping to expand into sheeting, fertilizer, and other furniture items. Talk about the ultimate statement piece for coffee lovers!

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola has partnered with chairmaker Emeco to create the 111 Navy Chair. Using recycled plastic from 111 bottles, and glass fiber for strength, the chairs are purportedly scratch-resistant and come in six colors, all with a 5-year structural guarantee. The 111 Navy Chair was introduced at the Milan Furniture Fair earlier this year, and the goal of the project is to show consumers that recycling can create fashionable, functional products. (We’ll toast to that!)

What’s next? Coffee tables from recycled paper? Nightstands made from old credit cards?

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