From the Series
Taiwanese designer Rock Wang and craft artists Kao-Ming Chen have collaborated to develop the Cocoon Plan, a collection of seating designs made from bamboo and silk, created by silk worms spinning fibres around a bamboo form. The collection includes a sofa and a stool.
The Cocoon Plan collection was made for the brand Yii. Yii is a concept by the Taiwanese Craft Research Institute to transform traditional Taiwanese crafts and make them suitable for a contemporary context through design. Respecting and honouring the balanced relationship between man and nature is a key part of Taiwanese culture. Yet, in modern times this fundamental value is often missing from craft and Yii aims to restore it.
Wang weaves the bamboo strips, that form the underlying structure, together by hand. The next step involves hanging the chair in the air by running a line though the openings. The silk worms are then brought to spin a natural cocoon around the structure. It takes five days of spinning to create each of the pieces but the end result is both durable and waterproof.
