COIR is a mobile food cart crafted from tropical coconuts that can expand out into a small-scale pavilion and serve as a social gathering hub.
A team of professors and students from the International Program in Design and Architecture at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, initiated the project to explore the versatility of tropical coconuts as a building material.
COIR (which is the stiff coarse fibre from the outer husk of a coconut and also stands for Coconuts as Opportunity for Inventive Reuse) was designed with the objective of maintaining a sustainable cycle for the fruit while producing zero waste.
The cart is constructed from a coconut composite board and stainless steel, which has been formed into a triangular base module, 16 stackable stools and 4 tables.
It its compressed state, the COIR can be used to transport produce through the streets, with the furniture stacked snugly into its interior compartments.
The cart can then be opened up and configured into a stall and social setting, with two large shading devices (also housed in the cart) available as shelter from the sun or rain.
Decorating the coconut board structure is a variety of patterns representing the wide diversity of religious and cultural groups in the local area.
Courtesy Designboom and COIR Design
