‘windworks furniture’ by merel karhofall images courtesy of merel karhof

 

 

 

in 2010, merel karhof built her ‘wind knitting factory’, a wind-powered knitting machine with blades of more than a meter in diameter, which used air currents to power the mill–their intensity determining the speed at which it knit: windy conditions saw rapid knitting activity, while less wind saw a slower, more controlled production.

 

in her first experiments, the dutch designer created scarves as a way of illustrating how her mobile wind factory worked, but she has since been exploring the possibility of using it for other applications such as that of harvesting upholstery for chairs and stools. in an event this past week (may 12-19th, 2013) called ‘windworks’, karhof presented to the public, the means in which she has developed her ‘windworks’ furniture collection, at the famous windmill area, the zaanse schans in the netherlands. she collaborated with the local saw mill ‘het jonge schaap’ (which sawed planks from trees) and colour mill ‘de kat’ (outfitted to grind pigments) there to produce her series of cheerful seating objects from natural materials.

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 2‘windwork’ stool and chair in synthetic green

 

 

 

first the base of each piece: stools, chairs, benches, were sawed by wind energy and assembled at ‘het jong schaap’. they were then transported by water to the pigment mill where yarn was tinted with natural dyes, which had been broken down at ‘de kat’. upon completion of the dying process, karhof’s factory knit the yarns. the resulting upholstery has been constructed from little pillows, each representing the amount of time needed by the wind to make them. on this occasion of creating furniture through her ‘wind knitting factory’, karhof has incorporated a pennon, a machine that allows the facility to turn away from the wind when speed gets too high, allowing it to operate independently.

 

karhof has sent designboom these images of the furniture produced by her ‘wind knitting factory’.

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 3back detail

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 4the size of the upholstered cushions represents the amount of time needed by the wind to produce them

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 5‘windchair’ in madder and synthetic green

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 6‘windstool’ in indigo, madder and synthetic green

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 7

 the wooden bases were first made at the wood mill and then transported to the color mill where the cushioning was done to complete each piece of furniture

 

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 8

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 9top view of the colourful pillow combinations

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 10indigo dye

merel karhof creates a collection of furniture using a wind knitting factory - 11the wind knitting factory at the zaanse schans, the netherlands by merel karhof

 

 

production of the ‘windworks furniture’ collection by merel karhofvideo courtesy of merel karhof

 

1/7
merel karhof: windworks furniture
 
merel karhof: windworks furniture
 
merel karhof: windworks furniture
 
merel karhof: windworks furniture
 
merel karhof: windworks furniture
 
merel karhof: windworks furniture
 
merel karhof: windworks furniture