With an impressive portfolio consisting of objects ranging from furniture and lighting to watches and even ‘laptop luggage’, the team of industrial designers, researchers and engineers over at Benjamin Hubert Ltd. are regularly nominated for design awards both in their native Britain as well as internationally. Working specifically with the goal of creating a sustainable alternative to traditional large upholstered furniture, their Pod chair is designed to create acoustical privacy in large shared spaces including offices and hotel lobbies. Using just a thin sheet of molded recycled PET-coated felt and a wood base, the team has created a unique chair design that’s not only comfortable but also functional. In this video from the award-winning product design firm, we get a behind-the-scenes look at how they made it all happen.

From Benjamin Hubert x De Vorm:

The ‘Pod’ is a large privacy chair for breakout areas in offices or residential projects. Pod is an environmental alternative to large upholstered furniture. Most upholstered is difficult to recycle as it’s a fixed combination of timber, glue, foam and textile. Pod tackles this by replacing the large upholstery with moulded felt created from recycled pet bottles. In addition the entire design is knock down with the shells stacking for minimum carbon footprint in transportation and storage.

The chair’s ergonomics allow the user to work comfortably whilst feeling relaxed and separated from the hustle and bustle of daily life. It’ creates a room-in-room experience with the perimeter of the chair around the users head. The shell of the chair is the largest form ever produced utilizing pressed PET felt technology. This felt allows a distinctive aesthetic as well as offers sound dampening properties to increase the sensation of privacy with acoustic performance.