Discarded Lindlar Greywacke Slabs Transformed into Striking Furniture Elements

FDT Bureau

Designer Carsten in der Elst displayed an innovative furniture display at Stockholm Design Week through his Greywacke Offcut Collection. The collection, showcased at the Stockholm Furniture Fair as part of the city’s design week, highlighted the designer’s unique approach to furniture design, which involved repurposing industrial byproducts into distinctive pieces. Know more about it on FURNITURE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (FDT).

In his latest endeavour, he ventured to a quarry in Lindlar, Germany, where he salvaged discarded Lindlar Greywacke slabs, transforming what would have been waste material into striking furniture elements. One standout piece from the collection is a modular coffee table crafted from three raw sandstone chunks, retaining their natural jagged edges while featuring a smoothed tabletop surface. His idea is to preserve the raw, unaltered essence of the stone, creating furniture that echoes the texture and solidity of natural rock formations. Each piece is, thus, carefully selected from accumulated offcuts, reflecting the designer’s patient and meticulous process akin to assembling Lego bricks.

In addition to the coffee table, the collection includes a floor lamp, bench, vase and an angular chair, each crafted from the same discarded sandstone material. The lamp, fitted with a large orb-like bulb, exudes a rugged yet elegant charm, while the chair playfully mimics the form of a tombstone, adding a touch of whimsy to the collection. Alongside these stone-based creations, In der Elst presented reworked versions of pieces from his Soft Works collection, including the iconic pasta chair revamped in black and the Aluskin Sofa, a polyurethane foam creation sourced from industrial mattress factory byproducts.

Image credit: Carsten in der Elst