With greater technology comes a greater awareness of environmental impact, and the restaurant and hospitality furniture industry is no exception. Many environment-friendly products for this market have been introduced, from commercial bar chairs to bistro tables. One such environmentally beneficial piece of furniture launched last year is the Icon Chair, designed by Philippe Starck and manufactured by his company, Emeco.

An upgrade from previous Emeco models, the Icon Chair is made from 80 percent recycled aluminum. According to the Emeco website, half of the recycled aluminum used comes from consumer waste like soft drink cans while the other half comes from post-industrial waste or manufacturing scrap. They are in compliance with the standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a US organization that advocates environmentalism in the building industry.

Not only are the Icon Chairs constructed with environmental awareness considerations, they are made to last too. In fact, the company claims that their creations are designed to last more than just a lifetime – 150 years, to be precise. Their claims are backed up with physical testing; on the Emeco website, you can watch videos of an Icon Chair being catapulted against a concrete wall and dropped from the second and third storeys of a building, emerging only with minor damage. Not delicate in the least, they can be used as outdoor bistro furniture and in similar applications.

The Icon Chairs are by no means inexpensive: the hand-brushed version costs about $350 while the hand-polished version costs about $770, but I guess that’s to be expected from such a popular and multi-awarded designer like Starck. This Frenchman is known for his New Design creations, which include not just furniture, but various personal accessories and products.

Some restaurants that feature Starck’s Emeco chairs are the IV Floating Restaurant in Rome, Italy; Kruisheren Hotel bar in Maastricht, the Netherlands; Benoit Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan; and the Dieci Restaurant in Welschdörfli, Switzerland.