Paper Tube Chair

While wandering through Pierre Jeanneret’s house in Chandigarh, we noticed how the designer’s once‑everyday hostel chairs now fetch auction prices fit for collectors. That disconnect sparked a question: if value can climb on nostalgia alone, could it also descend—gracefully—through waste?

Back in Bhopal we started rescuing the thick cardboard tubes our neighborhood print shop throws out every fortnight. Those “worthless” cores became the bones of the Paper Tube Chair.

Fifteen tubes are cut like bamboo and held together with a single figure‑eight lashing in bright vermilion rope left over from a weaving workshop we did some time back.

The rope tightens under load, lets each piece be swapped out when it’s tired, and keeps the chair honest about its making. We 3D‑printed small bases for the tube ends and washers for the rope holes, then sealed the surface with a thin varnish so every scratch and printer’s code stays visible. The hollows double as hide‑outs for notebooks, pencils, even a pair of reading glasses.

The result is an open‑source seat that anyone with a pile of tubes and some rope can try. For us it’s a reminder that “waste” can carry weight, structure, and a bit of mischief—proof that design can stay democratic and joyful at the same time. It's still a work in progress. This project was recently published in London Based Wallpaper* Magazine