Zero Waste Stool ‘Re-Pete’ Announced as Winner of Chair Design for 9th MPavilion
MPavilion has announced the 2022 chair design commission as ‘Re-Pete’ by University of Canberra trio Sam Tomkins, Iain [Max] Maxwell and Ben Ennis-Butler.
The MPavilion chair is one of the key commissions of the MPavilion season, designed to support Australian designers and contribute to their career portfolios. Previous commissions include Nüüd Studio, Board Grove Architects, Chris Connell, Carme Pinós, OMA, craftspeople in Mumbai (India) and Sean Godsell.
Selected from more than 40 design submissions and a shortlist of five finalists, Re-pete is a lightweight, zero-waste stool produced from recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) plastic using robotic 3D printing technology.
Drawing inspiration from the billowing and cellular forms of all(zone)’s MPavilion 2022 design, the chair’s complex doubly-curved shape enhances its stability offering a combination of support, flex and suspension in all the right places. The translucent yet highly textured surface animates the stool, amplifying its environment through flickering plays of light while casting spectrums of colour.
The work demonstrates a circular approach encompassing design, fabrication and recovery while celebrating the aesthetic and functional possibilities of emergent material techniques and robotic fabrication technologies.
Commenting on their commission, Dr Ben Ennis-Butler said: “We are overwhelmed to have an opportunity to contribute to the amazing culture of design that the MPavilion has fostered over so many years. It is such a unique event that uses design as an instrument to catalyse public debate and to contribute to that, even in just a small way, is so exciting.”
MPavilion Founder Naomi Milgrom added: “This year’s MPavilion by all(zone) is designed as an environment where people can feel at home in the world. The brief for the 2022 chair was to be responsive to this human centred design process and approach, with material experimentation to be a key consideration, and Re-pete certainly delivered on this. It is also zero-waste and can be melted down again at the end of the season so it’s 100% sustainable which was another non-negotiable in the brief this year.”
The 2022 MPavilion Re-pete chair will be on display as part of Craft Victoria’s upcoming exhibition The Chair from Saturday 10 September.The chairs will be used for talks, concerts, workshops and general gatherings throughout the MPavilion season, which runs from 17 November 2022 – 2 April 2023.
The full MPavilion program will be announced on 17 October 2022.
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