The 'Taisan Bench' placed in Cheonggyecheon, an urban shelter in Seoul, has won the main prize in the Public Design category of the iF Design Award 2023.
The 'Taisan Bench' placed in Cheonggyecheon, an urban shelter in Seoul, has won the main prize in the Public Design category of the iF Design Award 2023.
The iF International Forum Design GmbH, based in Hanover, Germany, is a long-established independent design award organization. The 'Taisan Bench' was selected as the winner by a jury of 133 experts from around the world, as it expressed Korean characteristics and aesthetics by twisting the preconceived notions of plastic materials.
In August of last year, the Taisan Bench was also selected as one of the top 28 longlisted works in the furniture category at the Dezeen Awards 2022, organized by the British design publication.
Lowlit Collective, who designed the 'Taisan Bench', said, "We were inspired by the ink-colored mountains piled up in ink paintings. The name 'Taisan Bench' is derived from the old saying "Taisan by collecting dust," meaning "dust" plastic that is difficult to recycle and is often discarded.
Lowlit Collective is engaged in the raw materialization of 'scrap plastic' (leftover waste plastic), production of recycled interior materials, and industrial design. As a 'repurposing studio', it has a mission to provide multi-use recycling solutions. It was certified as a preliminary social enterprise by the Ministry of Environment in 2022. It will participate in the London Design Fair 2023 in London, UK, in September this year to introduce European consumers to Korean sustainable design and self-developed waste plastic materials.
In June of last year, the Seoul Facilities Corporation, Lowlit Collective, and Lotte Chemical Co. signed a joint business agreement to build a virtuous ecosystem for Cheonggyecheon resources. The 'Taisan Bench' was designed and produced with the support of Lotte Chemical's 'Project Loop' program...
Meanwhile, the Taisan Bench will be exhibited in the WHAT'S NEW section of Maison & Objects 2024. It will be introduced under the brand Kollage, launched by Lowlit Collective.
