Emeco SU Barstool

SU Collection features the famous Emeco characteristics of design, engineering and strength, built with recycled and reclaimed materials.

The Japanese concept of ‘su’ comes from traditional Japanese culture, and means simple, plain, minimal. Nendo brought the design aesthetic of ‘SU’ to the collaboration with Emeco, along with the name, for the Emeco SU Collection.

The SU Collection features precise engineering and the use of new, surprising eco-conscious materials. SU has “Emeco bones” the iconic seat of Emeco chairs made since 1944, and is made of reclaimed and recycled materials discovered through ongoing exploration of eco-conscious resources. SU seats come in three new material choices, all of which demonstrate a more environmentally conscious way of doing things, using responsibly selected alternatives of some traditional materials. Solid reclaimed oak seats have been sourced from old architecture in the U.S.A., and carved into the Emeco seat by Amish craftsmen in Pennsylvania. Every piece is unique with signs of its past life. Eco- Concrete seats are made of Green-Concrete, a revolutionary concept that can replace the energy-consuming traditional concrete used in architecture. Emeco’s eco-concrete SU seat consists of 50% recycled glass bottles and CSA (calcium sulfoaluminate cement) that takes much less energy to make. Recycled Polyethylene seats, made of 75% post- industrial and 25% post consumer content, and shaped into the SU seat through rotation molding, come in three timeless color options – red, flint gray and dark charcoal gray. Emeco’s traditional material, recycled aluminum is used to make SU legs with either natural or black anodized finish. Reclaimed oak, as used in the seat, is another choice for the legs.

“Gregg Buchbinder, Emeco’s CEO contacted us when he saw a photo of the Starbucks pop-up store in Tokyo which we designed in 2012. We placed several white 111 Navy Chairs in the space, and we were happy about the fact Gregg liked the way we used them. The Emeco Navy Chair is 'the chair', and has always been inspiring many architects and designers around the world including ourselves. It is amazing that the chair has such a strong character, yet blending into so many different spaces. After roughly two years, we are proud to present a stool, which is strongly linked with the Navy Chair. It is for us, definitely 'the stool'.”
- Oki Sato, Nendo
“I like the SU stool as a concept. SU with the reclaimed oak seat and natural anodized aluminum legs beautifully combines Emeco’s heritage with modernist reductionism design. The oak material is reclaimed from local old buildings and has a lot wonderful wormholes, giving the seat character and uniqueness. We keep the oak seat untreated to allow the color to change depending on its exposure to the sun, humidity and above all – usage, thus creating its own history. Our philosophy is that both the visible and non-visible elements of our products must be outstanding with matching beauty. We pay attention to details – I believe the materials we chose, the design, strength and visual beauty come together wonderfully in this collection.”
- Magnus Breitling, Vice President of Product, Emeco
“It was rewarding to work with Nendo - a designer who has a philosophy of stripping things down, eliminating excess, and finding the beauty in simplicity. This strong tradition found in Japan fits both the past and the future of Emeco.”
- Gregg Buchbinder, President and CEO, Emeco