Arts Thread

Mingyu Xu
Design: Ceramics, Furniture or Jewellery MA

Central Saint Martins UAL

Graduates: 2022

Specialisms: Furniture / Product / Architecture / Interiors / Lighting

My location: London, United Kingdom

mingyu-xu ArtsThread Profile
Central Saint Martins UAL

Mingyu Xu

mingyu-xu ArtsThread Profile

First Name: Mingyu

Last Name: Xu

University / College: Central Saint Martins UAL

Course / Program: Design: Ceramics, Furniture or Jewellery MA

Graduates: 2022

Specialisms: Furniture / Product / Architecture / Interiors / Lighting

My Location: London, United Kingdom

Website: Click To See Website

About

Mingyu Xu, a furniture and product designer from China, is passionate about bamboo material, upcycling and Chinese traditional culture. He has dedicated to master the incorporation of cultural heritage and traditional craftsmanship into contemporary design. By rethinking on bamboo objects, he explores the traditional material and technique in a modern context.

Bamboo is a low-carbon and sustainable biological material. It can be rapidly regenerative and able to sequester large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Bamboo's strength and elastic characteristics can make it a sustainable substitute for metal, plastic or wood. The project aims to use bamboo and ancient weaving techniques in new and unusual ways through the feature of this material. Refreshing the tradition of bamboo. Bamboo weaving is part of an important cultural heritage of Asian object making which has been marginalised or eliminated in modern lifestyles and living spaces. ‘Parallel Forest’ brings traditional and ancient bamboo weaving into the modern interior space, exploring the visual identity and functionality of this fascinating material. Mingyu’s collection of modular bamboo woven furniture captures the elastic and tough quality of bamboo weaving. The structures and joints of the bamboo forms provide unexpected stability and functionality. The collection explores bamboo weaving for new applications as an environmentally friendly material and a production method. The collection offers a modern version of the traditional bamboo weaving of objects with a simple yet unexpected aesthetic achieved by combining manual and digital manufacturing techniques. The collection reimagines the interior possibilities of bamboo woven objects, offering unique furniture which is regenerative, bespoke, as well as adding value.