Emeco is an aluminum furniture company that produces the iconic Navy Chair. The Navy Chair is a classic farm-style chair that is hand-made from aluminum in “77 painstaking steps.” Variations on the Navy Chair include bar stools, arm chairs, and even a collection of stacking chairs by designer Philippe Starck. The style of the Navy chair is being reproduced by a slew of other designers including recently covered Sparkeology, whose version of the popular form is named AL.

111 Navy Chair. Designed by Philippe Starck.

The newest iteration of the Navy Chair is by Emeco itself in conjunction with Coca-Cola. While the original Navy Chair is made with 80% recycled material, the 111 Navy Chair is made with 111 recycled soda bottles per chair. Coca-Cola approached Emeco with the challenge of making a Navy Chair with a new, unproven formulation of rPET (recycled plastic bottles). Spawned by Coca-Cola’s new Spartanburg South Carolina recycling plant, the concept intended to raise awareness about recycling. “The goal of the 111 Navy project was to alter consumer behavior by illustrating the value of rPET with beautifully designed and everyday products – ultimately encouraging more recycling.”

Production of the new 111 Navy Chair was set to begin in June of this year, with Emeco expecting to use 3,000,000 plastic bottles each year. The chair has a distinctive, “velvet” finish that is scratch resistant and available in six colors: Red, Snow, Flint Gray, Grass Green, Persimmon and Charcoal. Snow, Flint and Red can be used outdoors.

The 111 Navy chair was launched at Milan 2010, in a one-ton block of ice created by ice sculptor Duncan Hamilton and photographed by ice photography specialist Peer Lindgreen. The Emeco Ice Cube was also showcased at Zona Tortona in Milan, during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

via dezeen