Trolleys

 
Chains
 


Trolleys in a supermarket are an ambivalent symbol of our society. They stand for choice and freedom but also for our exaggerated consuming. I think that there are not many people in the world who never touched a trolley. In the beginning they were little now they are becoming bigger and bigger.
Trolleys can move in all directions and can be pushed together for storage. The production of trolleys is not banal, therefore a research recycling is really desirable. Until now I produced stools, children cars and coat racks taking profit from the important trolley qualities. I am working on a new project for a supermarket chain in Switzerland.

 

Leonardo da Vinci used a wooden chain for his bicycle. Nowadays, chains have often to transmit rotation power from one axis to another or to transport objects in a production process. The world of chains is enormous because the application field is so big. A row of strong and precise links are connected by hinges, so strength and flexibility are combined. I profit from these qualities by constructing seat faces for chairs, by hanging beds to the wall as a bridge, by stretching a conveyer chain for a couch or by constructing shutters for bottle racks. Chains have an industrial aspect and at the same time a touch of jeweler’s work.
       
 
 

Springs

 
Rings
 


These membrane springs are used in condensers which are fixed in a closed oil bath. When the oil temperature changes, the membrane springs have to compensate the volume difference. These springs exist in different sizes and are made of stainless steel. I recycled plenty of test springs which had to support some thousands of movements and then were thrown away.

 

All sorts of rings are used in machines, motors and cars, for example, as seals or bearings. Often they are rotating or supporting axial movements. They have to be very precise and they make me think of jewelleries for giants.
       
 

 

  Defect Bulbs
Raw Bulbs
 


Friends of mine are recycling glass bottles, cutting them with a flame. They produce modern vases and drink glasses. Based on this technique I constructed a machine with a disc player with which I can cut defect bulbs. For the moment I use these delicate open glass balloons for vases and little colour lamps.

 


Electric bulbs are composed by a screw base, an electric wire and a glass balloon. From a bulb factory I recycled some thousand raw glass bulbs.

       
 

  Car Seats  Jacks
 


Car seats are certainly more ergonomic than most of our design chairs, this is specially true for the seats in high standard cars. Now they can be adapted to each person, even be programmed, and some of them have a heating inside. It is a pity to throw away so many seats which are often still good. I realised three projects with leather seats from Porsche, SAAB and Volkswagen, constructing a reception space and living room furnitures.


To change a wheel of a car or to ramp under it we need a jack. It is a small but strong tool and every body can lift enormous weights with easy movements. These little giants are magic and banal at the same time. For the moment I am constructing candle sticks where I can adapt the position of the light source.

   
 
 

  Wheels
Cans
 


The invention of the wheel 6000 years ago was probably the most important invention for the our technical progress. It triggered the step from tools to machines. Our life is not possible without millions of wheels and rolls. Wheels are not only in all sorts of vehicles and planes, but also in machines, cranes, computers, clocks, music players, turbines. For this reason it is natural to find wheels in all sizes and forms. I use the wheels in my objects specially for movements and rotations, for example in stools and chairs, for racks, doors, vases and lamps. They render the objects more practical and surprising.

 

Cans for fruits, vegetables and meat were produced by billions. They are very thin and have to be hygienic. For different projects I worked with this cheap material which is known by every body. Although cans are not anymore very fashionable they exist still in a enormous number and can be recycled easily. For a big ashtray project for Chesterfield I combined cans with big soup spoons.