Recycled Rebar Indoor/Outdoor Furniture
Reinforcing bars are at the creative core of these upcycled objects, complimented by planes of glass, wood or concrete depending upon the style and functional needs of each resulting work of urban furniture. The results are rugged enough to weather outdoor garden or patio use, but sufficiently contemporary to rest inside a big-city loft as well.
These bars are the signature feature of works by Mizner Designs – they are left straight or deformed into curves, retaining their strength and allowing other materials to float lightly between, below or above each set of structural supports.
In some tables and chairs the steel reinforcement bars are let in their natural rusted state, raw and urban. In other cases, various sizes are coated in bright colors and used to make anything from shelving systems to coat racks.
On the one hand, the works are extremely rigid and controlled, but there remains an element of individuality to each piece due to daring color choices and the variegated nature of the reused rebar employed from one to the next.
Derek Mizner has a minimalism that is tempered with pragmatism and a sense of social responsibility realized in material sustainability, based in part on his post-academic years spend in the Peace Corps followed by further metalworking, architectural and urban design studies.
“While working with rebar and cypress wood, the concept of ‘truth to materials’ has always been important. The functional, raw characteristic of rebar as a construction component was bent and welded as a frame to support a relaxed seat position. This chair became the prototype for the fabrication of additional bent-rebar chairs.”
For the coat rack, “simple #4 rebar posts are split and welded to a farming disc. Powder-coated in vibrant colors allows the rebar ribs to pop from the piece.”
“Derek Mizner, originally from Austin, Texas has a degree in Environmental Design from Texas A&M University. After graduating cum laude, Derek returned to Austin to begin his career in architecture. A two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Central America gave Derek the perspective of the basic necessities and civic infrastructure needed by developing economies. “
