Flat

This semester I've been doing an independent study with one of my favorite architecture professors. The subject matter was completely open to what I desired to investigate, so I turned it into an opportunity to design and develop a product to add to our now latent shop, HENNstudio.
To include a research component, I began by assembling a quick collection of flat-packed designed objects.  Flat-packing is of interest to me because our business completely relies on shipping.  Flatness has both economic and environmental benefits for shipping.  The mobile we sell on babydarling, for example, has a shipping thickness of about 1/2 inch.

For the research, I was less interested in IKEA-type assemblies, and more interested in maneuvers such as tailoring, bending, and folding.  Instead of relying on a multitude of small parts and hardware, these take advantage of material properties and rely on very few and simple steps for the customer to turn the 2-dimensional cutout into a spatial object.  I thought I would share a few fun designs:

This is a spread from the catalog I intended to produce... I decided it wouldn't leave enough time for design. This is one of my favorites: the Piegato designed by Matthias Ries Design Office in Berlin.  The powder coated sheet of laser-cut steel is shipped completely flat. The customer then bends by hand, along perforations, the desired number of shelves with ease. The entire process, including mounting with simple screws, takes only a few minutes.

Above are a couple other examples of products that use bending. I adore the Real Good Chair.  The powder-coated steel ships flat and folds along laser-cut lines to create a dynamic and comfortable chair. "As skinny as a supermodel, yet far more sturdy." There is a fantastic little documentary on the chair that I would recommend.

Above are just a few more fun designed objects I happened to come across. Enjoy.
1. belkiz feedaway : portable feeding chair
2. unless coral lampshade
3. sara paculdo's flatchair
4. fuchs+funke's papton chair
5. josh jakus's floppy basket
6. fozzils