karuun® stripe, karuun® shine and karuun® 3D used in the bread box N.O.S.W.
karuun® stripe and karuun®block used in the desk whf-desk

Nature Tech Material karuun®

During a trip to Bali, Julian Reuter discovers an almost forgotten material at a small handicraft market: rattan. He watches in fascination as the craftsmen make shapes and designs that he’d never seen done with a natural product before. Realising that the cultivation and harvesting of rattan in the 70s and 80s actually helped to preserve the rainforest turned that initial fascination into a vision for the future: to reanimate the material rattan. In cooperation with the Innovation Centre Lichtenfels, the innovative material karuun® and the company out for space are simultaneously created.

An energy-efficient process transforms the natural structure of the rattan palm into an inimitable high-tech material that is both sustainable and commercially profitable.

Lightfast, UV-stable pigments can be injected into the capillaries of peeled rattan rods with minimal energy consumption. karuun® poles are milled square, then these pieces are glued into panels or pressed into blocks. Amazingly, the trimmed-off fibres can also be processed into different products. Depending on the cut direction, materials with distinct properties and wide-ranging applications can be produced: cutting vertically creates the robust and malleable karuun® stripe and karuun® 3D; cutting horizontally creates the translucent and air-permeable karuun® shine. Despite this substantial modification, the material’s inherent characteristics remain intact; the pole’s unmistakable fibre structure runs through the surface.

www.karuun.com/en