Old Speaker Parts Find New Life in Statement Furniture | Horn Series

FDT Bureau

In today’s fast-paced world driven by technological innovation, gadgets and electronic components has quickly become obsolete. Devices that once held cutting-edge appeal are now often moved into dusty drawers or discarded into overflowing landfills. As these items reach the end of their functional life cycles, they frequently contribute to the growing problem of e-waste. Fortunately, a rising number of designers are stepping up to this challenge, exploring how defunct technology can be repurposed into meaningful, functional and aesthetically engaging objects.

FURNITURE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (FDT) showcases one such standout project from Seoul-based designer Juyong Shim, who presented his Horn Series at SaloneSatellite during Milan Design Week 2025. This captivating collection of furniture pieces is more than just a visual statement. It’s a powerful example of sustainable design in action. Shim’s work centers on a simple yet compelling idea of taking obsolete speaker parts, particularly speaker horns and transforming them into sculptural, utilitarian furniture items.

The design journey for the Horn Series begins with the hands-on collection of surplus and unused speaker components. These parts are sourced from suppliers and abandoned audio inventories, offering a second chance for materials that would otherwise be destined for waste. Unlike other projects where salvaged elements are used purely for decorative purposes, in Shim’s collection, the discarded speaker elements, including horns, frames, and structural housings form the very backbone of the design. Each item in the Horn Series is crafted with these components at its core, both structurally and visually, resulting in furniture pieces with distinct identities shaped by the original form of the speaker parts.

The collection includes a range of versatile furniture items such as stools that use the naturally flared shape of the speaker horns as their base, tables supported by speaker frames and horns that double as sculptural features, and shelving units with modular potential. One of the standout pieces is a multi-functional table-lamp hybrid, designed to optimize space by combining lighting and surface area in a single unit. There are also lighting fixtures that take advantage of the horn’s original acoustic design to project light in interesting ways, and trolleys that repurpose the horn’s shape into mobile storage solutions.

The Horn Series is an artistic and practical response to the growing problem of technological discard. Rather than allowing these components to decompose uselessly, Shim reimagines them as essential building blocks for contemporary interiors. His designs embrace the raw, industrial appeal of the original materials while refining them into objects that feel purposeful and modern. The Horn Series encourages us to reconsider the value of discarded objects and the potential embedded within materials deemed outdated.

Image credit: Juyong Shim