Magis

Bell Stackable armchair plastic material / By Konstantin Grcic / Recycled polypropylene - Eco-designed

Bell isn’t just a chair; it’s a symbol of eco-responsibility… An incredibly low price for this entirely eco-designed chair, made from an innovative recycled material, and created by one of the most talented designers of our time! Magis has teamed up with the famous German designer Konstantin Grcic to develop this ambitious, innovative project, the result of long research and development work. The Bell chair is made in Italy from recycled polypropylene from production waste collected at Magis’ Italian factories as well as local automotive production plants. In this way, Magis transforms the waste accumulated from its own furniture production into a new product. This innovative, patented polypropylene excludes almost all virgin or new plastic materials, and can be 100% recycled again after use. In this way, the Bell chair forms an almost closed material cycle. To make the Bell chair, Magis and Grcic worked with a highly specialised plastics manufacturer who was responsible for the structural engineering of the chair, construction of the mould and final production. This company has also developed and patented a new type of high-quality recycled polypropylene, used exclusively for the Bell chair. The use of raw material is fully maximised: the Bell chair is made with very little material. It weighs just 2.7 kg (at least a kilo-and-a-half lighter than average plastic chairs), while being very strong and of high quality. Using less material means less energy consumption during production. The key to this material saving lies in the ingenious shape of the chair’s shell. Its bulbous geometry is not just structurally strong; it also makes the chair extremely comfortable and visually appealing. The factory production process used for the Bell chair has been streamlined, simplified and shortened, so that manufacturing the chair requires very little time and energy. Finally, packaging and transport have also been taken into account: Magis has developed a logistics concept for the Bell chair to save additional resources. This involves a reusable delivery pallet, made from the same recycled plastic as the chair, which can stack up to 24 chairs. As a result, less packaging material is used while vertical stacking reduces the floor space taken up during transport. Konstantin Grcic on Bell: “The project started with the assumption that we could develop a chair that would sell to the public for just €65 (excluding VAT). This figure sets the tone for the whole project: from the technology and type of material used, down to the exact quantity / weight of material per chair, its production cycle time, its logistical footprint, etc. We wanted Bell to be affordable for everyone. To achieve this, we had to find the right balance between technology, performance and aesthetics. " "Our goal was to develop a high-quality chair with the bare minimum of material. This objective was important for ecological as well as economic reasons. The simple fact that our chair uses no more than 2.7 kg of plastic - almost half that of a standard chair - illustrates this quite vividly." "During the most active phase of development, there was constant exchange between us, the designers and engineers. I remember at one point, we were changing and adjusting the chair several times a day. My most difficult task was to keep the overall design idea in view. In short: I had to make sure the chair didn't turn into an engineer's dream, while losing its original design intention. It took numerous prototypes and a lot of testing to finally come up with the chair we have in front of us now. It was a very intense process to rework the chair over and over again, to make it better and better. Everyone involved in the project has put a lot of work and commitment into it. But the project always had great energy, and that kept us moving forward. I hope that Bell’s story heralds a shift in industry consciousness. Our project shows you can do things a little differently. ‘’

In detail:

• Variation : Grey-green Dawn

• Brand : Magis

• Designer : Konstantin Grcic

• Type : Stackable armchair

• Colour : Dawn Green-Grey

• Material : Recycled, 100% recyclable polypropylene, made from production waste collected from Magis factories and local automotive industry factories

• Dimensions : L 55 x Depth 53.5 cm x H 78 cm - Seat: H 45 cm
• Weight : 78.408 lb
• Characteristics : Eco-designed: made in Italy from pre-consumer industrial waste of local origin - Recycled, fully recyclable polypropylene from production waste collected in Magis factories and local factories in the automotive industry - Patented innovative material that does away with almost all virgin or new plastic materials - Stackable (x 24) - For indoors and out