Pruned street tree branches and fallen park wood in Tokyo are typically destined for the chipper. Tokyo-based studio Sotanaka gives this urban green waste a second life with its Uneri collection.
Named after the Japanese word for winding or surging, the series turns discarded camphor and Zelkova branches into structural components for chairs, stools, and tables.
The natural, irregular curves of the scavenged wood—shaped by a tree’s search for light and gravity—are left intact and paired with clean, geometric plates of Hokkaido-grown linden plywood. A seamless, hand-cut joinery system holds the uneven pieces together, while a uniform coat of matte black enamel paint unifies the rough organic textures and precise lines into striking, functional sculptures.
SOTANAKA is an independent, Tokyo-based design studio established in 2020 by product designer Soichiro Tanaka. Blending material research with biology, philosophy, and interdisciplinary art, the studio treats furniture, lighting, and everyday objects as structural poetry designed to reshape how humans relate to the natural environment and society. Sotanaka focuses heavily on hands-on material experimentation rather than traditional sketches, embracing the organic constraints of the medium to spark unexpected design
