chogokri brings new life and color to worn out chairs

Discarded chairs recall old memories in a more valuable way

Seoul-based creative design studio Chogokri has rejuvenated discarded chairs found throughout Chogok-ri village in South Korea. The design team collected pieces of furniture that had lost their functionality over the years — some of them remained in miserable condition, losing their identity completely. Thus, through the ‘The Youth’ project, the designers sought to give a second life to these chairs, maintaining the traces that testify to the passage of time.

damaged chairs before the rejuvenation

all images by Chogokri

‘The Youth’ was born out of damaged chairs

‘The Youth’ is a series of objects that was reborn out of chairs that had lost their original function and were eventually abandoned. Their state was either broken, faded, or rusted to such an extent that use was impossible. Apart from functionality, Chogokri (see more here) aimed to bring back memories of these pieces that have been piled up, faded, and rusted like their bodies.

Accordingly, they removed carefully only the parts that didn’t work and replaced them with new ones made of colored resin. This way, semi-translucent blocks are weaved with the aged skeletons to reattach missing or broken seats or frames, whilst adding a vivid modern touch to the otherwise old structure. ‘We thought that there might have been a time of glory even for the discarded objects,’ mentioned the studio. The result is a set of chairs that can pass from hand to hand without losing their purpose, all the while recalling memories from the past.

after regeneration

semi-translucent material blends with the old frame

resin blocks fill in the missing parts

serving as frame

adding functionality and vivid touch