Besides the arguments allready presented above about sustainability, I'd furthermore like to say that i've just about had it with metal plate origami (taking a plate and folding it, voila product) and the joke of cutting out baroque forms out of a flat plate is getting pretty thin as well, in the last year of the +-200 folded/ slotted/lasered or waterjetted flat plate products i've maybe seen 2 or 3 good original ones, this stuff is probably one of the ugliest and unoriginal ever.
If you buy yourself an Eames chair it will still be beautiful after 40 years and durable(plus eames still delivers spare parts), and will remain timeless, and THAT is sustainablility imo.
Sorry that i'm on a rant.

And there I thought Boingboing was all about creativity, and making strange wonderful things, silly me.
Not new to BB but relatively new to the comments.

I happen to know for a fact that Marijn made this as an academy project, Droog later took in their collection just because they liked it, more as an idea than to actually sell, with which they create a platform for presentation for young designers. Design galleries and labels do this very often, in the Netherlands anyhow. The stuff that actually sells is the small gift type things.
And to all you people who are complaining about how they could make it for less, or about modernism and it‘s lack of something or other, moral implications and the responsibility of the artist; first show me an idea or project you made in school, which is still talked and discussed about after 9(yes, nine as in made in 1999) years, because that is what you are looking at.
Furthermore I also suggest you look at the fine collection of cars and bicycles he made (himself)
http://www.marijnvanderpoll.com/
And the recent “jetstream” table.
http://www.tuvie.com/sleek-desk-inspired-by-aviation-classic

Some reactions:

“I see that once again we have people confusing high concept art & design with Ikea.”

Yes unfortunately there seem to be a lot of those people these days.

“think how many people the cost of this chair could feed”

In my humble opinion this is easily the most retarded comment.
I bet you’re not typing this from behind your old 486dx with 14inch monitor, and if indeed you are, you are probably craving for the all new mac book pro, and I-phone, (this is just speculation on my part) which you know is being built by mostly under aged under schooled people who don’t get fed or for that matter paid properly.
I’ll just repeat myself again and say this an ACADEMY project, made by the (then) student himself, it is not meant to sell it’s just the shape of an idea.
But if you want it the price is approximately 3000euro, and in the unlikely event that he will sell it he will probably make it HIMSELF again, or have it made by a local small business, or fellow designer, and pay a fair wage. With the money he’ll make new concept or design.

Just my 2 euro cents.

I can see a whole army of these at a childrens party.

This is our art tank (shameless self promotion)
http://www.snodevormgevers.nl/print.php?id=20060202230239&photo=tank3.jpg

Ideas seem to float around a lot these days..
It looks exactly like the sculpt series from maarten baas.