Researchers developed a multi-layer flax fiber fabric tailored for eco-friendly seating furniture that fits flexible geometries and supports assembly, disassembly, and reuse without glues or permanent fasteners. The work was carried out under the LinumTube cooperation project, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research WKI with design input from Studio Jonathan Radetz. The goal was furniture that meets circular economy principles: components can be taken apart without damage and fed back into existing recycling streams. The interiors combine a steel substructure and a robust flax fiber cover, reducing waste and enabling long-term use, tells Tech Xplore.
The flax fabric is produced on a double-rapier weaving machine, emerging in one piece that needs only its edges finished before fitting onto the steel frame. This process avoids cutting, stitching, or added assembly work, improving production efficiency and minimizing material waste. Different versions of the fabric include natural tones and bright colors, with or without fringes or lamellar structures that change the seating surface’s cushioning effect. Designers also incorporated features that allow removable LED lighting to thread through the textile for indirect illumination and ambiance.
A key intention was to make the furniture easy to reconfigure or move. Because the covers slip over square or round steel tubes and can be detached non-destructively, users can adapt the pieces to changing needs or take them apart for transport. The design concept emphasizes modularity: a range of fabric styles can pair with multiple steel-frame shapes, so components join in different combinations, responding to aesthetic or functional preferences.
Prototypes of benches, stools, and chairs have appeared at prominent furniture fairs, demonstrating not only the technical promise of plant-based textiles in structural applications but also a practical path toward sustainable furniture that aligns with circular-economy goals.