Hyundai Transys, the global auto parts manufacturer and Hyundai Motor Group affiliate, has shown off its latest future mobility seat concept at Lineapelle International Leather Fair, in Milan, Italy.
The company has exhibited its color-material-finish (CMF) concept seat, developed using sustainable leather and other recycled materials in partnership with Italian and Korean manufacturers to create a concept from tanning waste.
The design concept has been dubbed ‘Seoul to Milan’, and is intended to link the cities through the colors and patterns used, particularly the two main hues – ‘Seoul Grey’ for the Korean capital’s metropolitan cityscape and granite peaks, and ‘Milano Brown’ for the Italian city’s classical buildings and tanneries. In addition, Seoul’s city lights are translated as pixels while Milan’s towering gothic Duomo cathedral is conveyed as stripes.
Tanned leathers are used in the seat sections where durability is required, and woven leathers are used in the seatback bolsters, giving a different texture effect while minimizing leather waste from cutting. Leather scraps were ground to powder and reconstituted into yarn, which was later combined with yarn made from recycled PET bottles to create a unique regenerated fabric for the floor area.
Hyundai Transys also used upcycled felt fabric and 3D printing to structure the headrest out of recycled aluminum powder to give the model a cohesive look while demonstrating sustainable applications of such materials. The seat frame model is also an upcycled product from 2018, brought back to life for this project to provide a sustainable approach inside-out.
“When autonomous driving mobility spaces become everyday places in our lives, material research and development from the eco-friendly perspective shown in this concept seat will become more important for the future of mobility,” said Sung-kyung Hong, design team leader at Hyundai Transys.
