Plastic doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. Barbie Dolls, plastinated cadavers, and disposable water bottles have minimized the material’s worth. But one Italian furniture manufacturer is seeking to reignite the allure of plastic. Beginning with the homepage of Euro3plast‘s website, the company announces its material love through a quote from cultural critic Roland Barthes.

Goen Armchair. Designed by Setsu E. Shinobu Ito for Euro3Plast.

“A miraculous material: a miracle is always a sudden conversion of nature. Plastic remains entirely impregnated with this shock: more than an object it is a trace of movement.” And this underlying movement is beautifully portrayed in the Goen Armchair, designed for by Japanese designer Setsu E. Shinobu Ito. The Goen Armchair seems to be born of its material-a sort of plastic blossoming. The ability of plastic to be shaped is visible in Shinobu’s chair. In fact, the Goen Armchair symbolizes the very essence of plastic-malleability. The chair’s beautiful round arms, sloped sides, and undulating back make it a study in plastic possibility.

In Japanese, Goen means “circular interaction”-a perfect name for this “small armchair characterized by a soft and fluid shape.” The Goen Armchair is the ambassador of Euro3Plast’s Plust Collection, which uses “hybrid shapes” that “express their own definition of furniture.” Goen does reinvent the armchair, erasing the one aspect of the object that defines it–the arms. Where do the arms begin and end? Nobody knows, and we should revel in this mystery. Playfulness and mutability are best embodied in plastic, a material that begs to be molded.

The Goen Armchair measures 30.7″ H x 30.3″ W x 31.1″ D and comes in matte, lacquered, or metallized finishes: ivory, pearl black, acid green, dull green, and fucshia in matte; white, black, and orient red in lacquered; and coffee in metallized. The matte finish is suitable for outdoor use, while the lacquered and metallized options are suitable for covered outdoor use–or indoor use, of course. Actually, I like the Goen Armchair for offices and libraries: with a book-sized cranny carved into the back, the chair begs to accommodate readers. University libraries should take note: the Goen Armchair is comfortable, stylish, studious, and most importantly, long-lasting (to say nothing of easy to clean)-all qualities native to plastic!