With bikes attached to both ends of every bench in this courtyard in downtown Portland as well as any available pole including some on the other end, perhaps there is a message here.

images (c) Lisa Town

This repurposed design by Polish designer Pawel Grunert called the SIE43 Chair, reimagines the use of some PET bottles into a luscious form. It might be called a chair but I can’t really imagine anyone sitting on it without leaving a big dent behind. Although the design of it is quite ingenious in that the bottles all attach to the steel frame via there lids which could then simply be unscrewed and changed out should they show signs of wear. The only trouble with that is, who just has a bunch of the same bottle sitting around? Or if you’re like me, you don’t typically get your water from a bottle. But that’s beside the point. The point is that it’s a lovely form and an inspiring idea.

This particular chair was produced for the ‘Eco Trans Pop’ exhibition of ecological design to be showcased in the Colombari Gallery in Milan, Italy.

images via contemporist

image via Valentinian

After recently helping someone clear out the office of a business that went under, I noticed so many pieces of used office equipment that were no longer in their original, pristine condition and wondered what might become of these items. I had this idea of some sort of installation called “The Forgotten Office” which would turn things like trash cans and filing cabinets into planters and allow the plants to grow all over chairs and desks.

When I came across the repurposed filing cabinets from Minimis called Arkivos, I realized that someone else obviously had the same thinking. They’ve taken old salvaged metal filing cabinets and turned them into sidewalk planters and herb gardens available in all sorts of colors and finishes, including custom finishes from artists. I like the industrial, solid feel these have in using the old hefty metal filing cabinets.

According Minimis, Arkivos are “aesthetically repurposed archives, as sidewalk planters and herb gardens for your terrace, sidewalk cafe, or back yard. In the spirit of the modern Bauhaus movement, the monolithic planters boast clean, straight lines, very solid construction, and an industrial appearance.”

image via minimis