We don't usually want our furniture to be highly flammable, but the Briket, by Renaud Defrancesco, actually encourages it. Made from potatoes and sawdust, the stool is designed to be thrown in a fireplace for warmth once it reaches the end of its usefulness.
The stool itself measures 29 x 29 x 43 cm (11.4 x 11.4 x 17 inches). Its design is quite simple, though does consist of nine legs. This seems a little excessive, but was required to ensure it was strong enough to support the weight of the person sitting on it.
Of course, you could throw pretty much any wooden furniture in a fire if you're determined enough, however most of it has varnishes and other chemicals that can be harmful to your health. Briket has no metal, nor any other nasty surprises, and is essentially a lot like an oversized wood pellet used in pellet burners. Unfortunately, as far as we can tell, it doesn't give off the pleasant smell of a roasted potato as it burns.
The designer went to a lot of effort getting the correct mixture of potato and sawdust to make the idea work and envisions the method being used for a line of items made from food and wood waste. He also notes that it could be produced directly in sawmills, carpentry shops, and workshops dealing with large quantities of wood using only a simple press to manufacture.
"The manufacturing process of the furniture pieces is both simple and environmentally neutral," explains Defrancesco. "Wood waste is compressed alongside potatoes, another natural component not completely consumed by the food industry. Multiple tests are necessary to achieve the optimal combination. It is hard to find the perfect mix of sawdust and potatoes to be able to create a material with consistent strength and no mold.
"Regarding this project, we envision a family of objects where their function is merely a transitory state, preceding the entire combustion of their elements. Built with no chemical additives or metal components, the objects can be fully recycled through fire for heating."
Briket was created for the Out Of The Woodworks exhibition by NOV Gallery in Switzerland. We've reached out to Defrancesco to ask whether there are future plans to make it available for purchase.
Source: Renaud Defrancesco Studio
