chris luu’s ‘trashcan vase’ brings new york’s iconic street bin into the home

chris luu bids farewell to new york’s wire-mesh trashcan

As New York City bids goodbye to its iconic green-mesh trashcan this year, designer Chris Luu pays homage to the street culture symbol by remodeling it into a flower vase. The Trashcan Vase’s outer body is made up of a resin frame, glued to an aluminum wire mesh painted in the renowned green, while inside it sits a removable water vessel. The hard wrinkled insert replicates a clear garbage bag made of transparent resin, fitting snugly to hold its vibrant flower arrangements.

all images courtesy of Chris Luu

trashcan vase pays homage to the century-old icon

The green wire-mesh trash can is almost as synonymous with New York as a brownstone, having dotted the cityscape for almost a century. From next year, the bins will be removed from the urbanscape and replaced with an upgraded, more sleek and modular design. Immortalizing the soon-to-be-gone icon and bringing it from the streets to the home, New York-based designer Chris Luu has remodeled its form and elevated it to make it a suitable decor piece for the home.

An instantly recognizable symbol of the city and its street culture, its legacy is widely recognized around the world, even having appeared in various renowned movies and television shows as characteristic props. The project further follows along the lines of floral designer Lewis Miller’s vibrant takeover of the streets of New York in 2017, transforming empty trashcans into streetside installations overflowing with bountiful botanical arrangements. 

Trashcan Vase brings a street icon into the home as a decor piece

an insert made of transparent resin replicates a clear garbage to snugly hold the flower arrangements