RIGA.New Stories From Forgotten Objects
In collaboration with MAAJAAM: Farm for Art & Tech
Adaptive-reuse furniture: RIGA is a chair built from two discarded objects found on site, combining restoration of a rusted steel frame of an abandoned chair with reclaimed wood and mechanisms from a Soviet-era Riga upright piano.
The existing steel frame was stripped of years of rust, repaired, protected, primed and repainted. Sections of the piano were dismantled and cut into new seat and backrest components, while remaining piano keys and details were incorporated as visible traces of the material’s previous function and identity. Through carpentry and improvised joinery, the rigid geometry of the original chair was also adjusted to create a more comfortable sitting posture.
RIGA serves as an exercise of repair and improvisation to become part of the design language, preserving fragments of their previous lives while allowing them to continue as a functional object. The project considers discarded materials not as neutral resources, but as objects already carrying histories that can be extended through making.
Design: Marcelo Guajardo Dávila
Status: Produced
Publications/Press:
- MAAJAAM
Materials: Riga upright piano wood, piano keys/components, steel chair frame
Methods: Furniture restoration, rust removal, steel repair, priming & painting, carpentry, cutting, joinery, sanding, outdoor wood finishing
Produced in: MAAJAAM, Neeruti, Estonia
Year: 2026
Photography: Marcelo Guajardo
Don’t start over. Start with what’s there.