Inspired by the innovative material, shape and construction of the SILQ chair, experts share their explorations, discoveries and boundary-pushing ideas.

Wood without Trees

Forests take hundreds of years to grow. Flax takes 100 days. Lingrove CEO Joe Luttwak joined SILQ Talks to share his breakthrough in material science. Lingrove is a materials and design firm focused on plant based fibers and resins — creating a material that looks like wood, but is stronger, lighter and more moldable. SILQ Talks celebrate boundary-pushing ideas inspired by the innovative material, shape and construction of the SILQ chair.

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Discover SILQ

The idea for SILQ was clear; create a chair that’s simple, more organism than machine. One that operates intuitively and invites the human body to participate in the experience.

Getting there involved pushing the boundaries of material science. The design and engineering team achieved its vision through explorations with carbon fiber. But it was a material process breakthrough that embodies the qualities of carbon fiber, that delivers SILQ at mass scale.

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SILQ Talks Video 1: Can We Create Smart Materials?

Skylar Tibbits, founder and co-director, MIT Self-Assembly Lab, explains how he’s programming simple materials to be highly active and dynamic to change the way we create, design and make things.

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SILQ Talks Video 2: Turning Trash Into Value

FluidSolids’ Beat Karrer tells us how his Zurich-based company takes waste and turns it into something that looks like plastic, but is recyclable and compostable.

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Canvas for Individual Expression

The sculpting and tailoring of SILQ creates an opportunity for designers to create their own unique vision.

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