The Recycling Chair-Sofa System by Stephan Schulz is at first glance, very difficult to decipher. Made from recycled foam slices, the seating apparatus could be as hard as Corian or soft as insulation batting. The reality is closer to the latter, the foam is like what you would find in a couch cushion, with some structural capacity but with more emphasis on the squishy comfortable aspect.

The colorful, flecked foam is a result of its hodge-podge origins from many recycled source materials. The exact source of the foam is unclear, so we are assuming the foam is “upcycled”, making this chair sustainable. Each foam panel is held in place by a cable system that allows the foam to flex with the user, theoretically creating a more comfortable seating arrangement. Additional panels can be adding easily to transform the chair into a couch.

Another consequence of the cable system are the crevices that form between the cushions when a person sits down. Your current sofa may eat change now and then, but the Chair-Sofa System will swallow a small dog whole. Luckily enough, the Chair-Sofa System is easy enough to disassemble that Fluffy won’t suffocate before you can retrieve her.

About the Designer: Stephan Schulz was born in Schwerin, Germany in 1983, and studied at Industrial Design and the Academy of Arts and Design in Halle, Germany. In 2010 he set up a studio in Halle and began work on projects that have since been exhibited in the Vitra Design Museum, the New Museum in Nuremberg, and the Imm Cologne to name a few.

via Materialicious