Berlin-based Werner Aisslinger claims to have designed the world’s first monobloc chair made from natural fibers — in this case the renewable raw materials are hemp and kenaf, compressed with a water-based thermoset binder to form an eco-friendly, lightweight and yet strong composite. Aisslinger notes that consumers are striving towards a lifestyle that is in harmony with the environment, and believes the Hemp Chair marks a watershed moment in this trend. “Design history is driven by new technologies and material innovation,” explains Aisslinger. “For us designers, the advent of these technologies has always been the starting point for new objects and typologies in design.” Traditionally, shaping and engineering a complete chair structure from a thin layer of material is one of the most challenging ways to design a chair, but the monobloc structure allows the chairs to be stackable, making them even more efficient. What on earth the sheep is doing there guarding a Hemp Chair, you ask? Who knows, maybe they have a kenaf obsession…