Edinburgh College of Art graduate Spyros Kizis has designed a dining chair and a lounge chair made from artichoke thistles and bio resin.

Made using a combination of plant fibre and organic epoxy resin, the Artichairs by Spyros Kizis  are completely biodegradable and can be reused as biofuel.

The artichoke thistle, also known as the cardoon, grows wild in Kizis‘ native Greece and has been found to be suitable for use in the biofuel industry. By growing the thistle as a crop, research has shown that production of the plant could help to enhance Greece’s recession-hit economy.

To make the Artichair, Kizis combined the artichoke thistle with a bio-based resin made from waste cooking oil. The result is a sustainable bio plastic which is then pressed into a mold to create the shell of the chair. The bioplastic offers a sustainable alternative to standard oil derived plastics that will become increasingly difficult to produce as oil production declines.

Because the bioplastic uses parts of the thistle that are not used in the bio-fuel production process, the chairs provide a great way to ensure that every part of the plant is used. In addition, since the material biodegrades upon disposal, and seeds of the artichoke thistle are included in the making process, it is feasible that a new plant will one day grow wherever the products are buried at the end of their useful life.

For more information visit www.spyroskizis.com

About the designer: Spyros Kizis was born in Athens in 1986. He earned his diploma in Product and Systems Design Engineering from the University of the Aegean – DPSD in 2011. He holds an MA in Product Design from the Edinburgh College of Art where he was awarded with the Andrew Grand award and was also nominated for the Materials Innovation fellowship from The Arts Foundation. Having set up his own studio in London, Kizis work has been exhibited in Edinburgh, London, Milan, Ekaterinburg, Athens and Thessaloniki.