Born in Geneva in 1994, Louise Plassard first completed a Bachelor’s degree in architecture at EPFL in Lausanne. After a year of internships, she decided to pursue a master’s degree in interior architecture at HEAD to explore smaller-scale projects such as renovation, design, and scenography. One of her interests is repurposing old or discarded materials into spatial projects.
For her diploma project, Louise realized that less than 3% of the 700 million tonnes of carpet produced each year in Europe is recycled, and in Switzerland, the recycling rate stands at 0%. Currently, all waste carpets are incinerated, even though they could serve as a valuable resource for design and architecture. This project aims to repurpose carpets from various events and transform them into furniture items, thereby exploring the potential of this raw material in different interior applications, ranging from domestic uses to public spaces. The form and aesthetics of the furniture pieces are derived from the intrinsic morphological and geometric qualities of the carpet material.
To achieve autonomy and reduce reliance on additional materials, the carpet strips are folded along a specific curve to create rigidity for the overall structure. The concept utilizes the fabric itself as a key component, making it a structural element in its own right while simultaneously exploring its enveloping and decorative qualities. The project delves into the softness, tactility, acoustics, and hygienic properties of carpets, reproducing these characteristics within interior spaces.
