Dezeen Magazine

Gruff by Arno Mathies

Milan 09: Gruff is a collection of cardboard furmiture by Arno Mathies of Real-Made, exhibited as part of Designhuis at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan last month.

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The furniture is made of laminated, corrugated cardboard, assembled using housing joints.

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Mathies designed the table while studying at ECAL (University of art and design Lausanne) in Switzerland.

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Photos by Michel Bonvin.

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See all our stories from Milan 09 MIlan 2009.

Here's some text from Mathies:

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Project name: Gruff

Gruff is mountable and dismountable furniture using 15mm corrugated cardboard. Gruff exists in two versions, an inexpensive all in cardboard version, and a black and white printed version with a glass table top.

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Both versions explore the various properties of the material and the structure is composed of two elements repeated twice, that are assembled using housing joints and require no screws. The table top is the final element which guarantees the stability of the whole object.

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Considering the choice of material and the method of fabrication, the user can either consider his table as a disposable object or a permanent piece of furniture for household or office use. Gruff is a response to the paradox of a society focused on increasing consumption while trying to achieve sustainable development.