Designed by Swedish design duo, Fulo, Bits is a bench encased in a type of fabric made of hundreds of small triangles of birch plywood. Although the faceted ‘upholstery’ looks hard on the surface, it is padded and therefore feels soft when sat on. Bits also comes with a bolster that can be adjusted along the bench based on a person’s seating mannerism, and also works as a lounge bench.

Images courtesy of Fulo

Taking cues from origami and architectural cable structures, Holland-based designer, Yuya Ushida, created a furniture constructed from 8000 chopsticks that switches from a chair into a couch and vice versa just by the act of pushing and pulling.

SOFA_XXXX, as its name implies the cross-cabling system, consists of 4 different lengths of sticks, connective rings and joints assembled to form a strong structural lattice that expands and retracts. The chair/couch also adjusts to proper seating heights depending on its use.

Japanese designer, Makoto Orisaki, together with Olfa, developed the ‘or-ita’ – a special shaped blade that perforate cardboard and any dull materials for folding mechanisms. For the recent ‘Cardboard High’ show at Claska gallery and shop in Tokyo, six designers created some pretty nifty cardboard pieces utilizing the blade.

origami magic ball by makoto orisaki

cardboard houses by makoto orisaki

the olfa ‘or-ita’ rotary cutter blade

cardboard boxes templates mitsuru koga created with the ‘or-ita’

architect ryuji nakamura made a simple, lightweight chair reinforced with dowels inserted into the corrugated structure of cardboard.

detail

via designboom I, designboom II

Recently unveiled at the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna is Enzo – a colorful series of outdoor furniture. Jointly conceived by Austria-based creative duo, MN*LS and PPAG Architects, Enzo is an improved fireproof version of a previous outdoor installation called the “Enzis” which were destroyed by a fire in 2009.

The “Enzis” which were previously installed (below)

images courtesy of MN*LS. Bottom image via PPAG Architects

SHE is an Oslo, Norway-based design studio fronted by Silje Søfting and Eva Marit Tøftum. Both designers came up with a type of textile made of wool and thermoplastic yarns and constructed of structural pleats. The textile is implemented in their series of furniture: a lounge chair, an ottoman and a room divider.

……………………………

DUO Chair

……………………………

FOFO poufy ottoman

……………………………

AKU room divider

images courtesy of SHE

via dagensdesign.dk

Polish designer, Małgorzata Mozolewska, created the M Chair made by pleating fabric. When a seater wants a little privacy, simply pull the handles on both edges, and the chair transforms into a partitioned seat. Depending on user preference, the size of the partition can vary by pushing and pulling.

Thanks to Małgorzata for the images!

German designer Wing Fung Ng, came up with a furniture concept that works as a space-saving measure in response to Hong Kong’s tight living condition. The Changeable Chair transforms instantly into a coffee table by simply unfolding the seat portion.

shelving compartment for easy storage

…………………………………………………

the table/chair production: laminated wood veneer were soaked, and later bent into shape within a vacuum press

the vacuum press

the end-result of the chair/tabletop

shelving skeleton made of strips of rounded metal

felt is glued to the seat backing

images courtesy of wing fung ng

A set of chairs, a couple of fun book lights and a handbag with pleating elements made up the Octagonal Series, conceived by designers Mi-Seung Kim and Myung-Seo Kang of Studio MS. By studying and exploring origami, the designers discovered numerous possibilities of pleating octagonal shapes which produce flexible and structurally rigid forms.

The Book Light. UV stable pvc / cotton for bookbinding

Inspired by traditional bookbinding, the Book Light consists of a book cover and a pleated cotton shell with a light bulb within. The amount of light can be adjusted by simply opening and closing the ‘book’. There are three different Book Lights: a table lamp, a pendant lamp, and a floor lamp.

——

The Closer (chair). plywood with pleated leather

The chair consists of two hollow wooden boxes linked with pleated leather connection that flexes and extends. You can simply link a few more boxes and connecting pleats to create a bench for group seating.

——

The Octave (Bag). leather

Photography by Merlin Hendy

Debuting at this year’s DMY Berlin is the Cloud Stool by Eindhoven-based Studio Joon & Jung. The highlight of the seat is its cushion which is constructed of grey and white stuffed cords, knotted and twisted to resemble that fluffy substance in the sky. Cloud stool can be used as a single seat, or as a group seating by simply rounding up the stools.

Design statement: “All nature is making relation and alive in everyday. It creates a constant surprising composition of shape and color. People are individual, but sharing the common senses with group, and it makes them unique and unified.” (cont.)

“Cloud Stool is inspired by the flexibility and softness of the cloudscape. It can be singular or become a group as a human being. It gives the illusion that it’s alive, by using irregularity, flexibility and subtle differences in tone of perception. Conclusively, the form interacts between objects, and people could explore with it. ”

images courtesy of Studio Joon & Jung

Mowo Studio of Poland designed the Bufa Chair inspired by the craft of pleating. A two-dimensional felt folds into a seat at the pull of a string on both sides of the fabric.

Material: polyester felt and stainless steel.

Mowo is made up of Monika Elikowska-Opala and Wojciech Opala

Studio Aisslinger recently released a brand new furniture collection combining new high-tech applications to traditional stitching techniques. The result is the NETwork stitching furniture edition which transformed a 2-dimensional embroidered textile into 3D pop-up objects.

The latest 3D textile pop-up technology is an empirical research-result developed with a traditional German manufacturer in Plauen, a region with a long tradition in stitching and embroidery. The combination of experimental design with a hidden traditional production is always a challenge for designers and an exciting field for new concepts. Nowadays the know-how of specialized technologies is more often found in the supplying industries than in the design brands themselves.

the process:
the volumes are first translated with software into 2d projections of themselves that can be directly programmed  into the machines that stitch the pattern into a carrying surface. The carrying surface is then dissolved and the embroidered 2d pattern becomes free to form a 3d object.  The objects formed by  the stitched honeycomb structures are fixed over a fiberglass mould and impregnated with resin in order to make them rigid and constructive.

“Since Gaetano Pesce´s UP-collection from 1969, the switch of dimensions has been a challenge for designers and design concepts. The pieces from the NETwork edition – armchairs, stools and lamps – are  volumes carefully designed for later flattening with software support. The objects created are extremely light and transparent and they seem to flow in space as 3d textile meta-networks.” – werner aisslinger

Technical partner
gerber GmbH, Plauen, Germany

fabrics
kvadrat, Denmark

project team studio aisslinger
werner aisslinger, nicole losos, julene aguirre-bielschowsky,
verena stella gompf, johannes becker, gabriele gebert

Images courtesy of Werner Aisslinger

String art and fun fashion culminate the Stretch Collection – a set of chairs made of latex, bungee and rope in vivid colors designed by Brooklyn-based Jessica Carnevale. The chairs brought to mind the signature flashy outfits in Christopher Kane’s Spring 2007 collection which Jessica based her inspiration on.

christopher kane’s outfits with tight lacing detail

-

the string detail on jessica’s stretch chairs

-

images courtesy of Jessica Carnevale

christopher kane’s runway images via style.com

Design duo Fox and Freeze, James van Vossel and Tom de Vrieze, produced their first studio collaboration called the ff1 or fox & freeze 1 chair. It is an indoor lounge chair made out of 1 square sheet of synthetic felt which is twisted and tightened in place with a flax rope. Watch the little clip showing just how much the structurally self-supporting chair can withstand the force of a jumping adult.

Click here to view the embedded video.

felt sheet is bent and slotted into place

detail of the slots

The ff1 chair is for sale at the webshop. Thanks to Fox and Freeze for the images.

Japanese designer Hiroyuki Morita came up with a clever folding mechanism for his Pata chair. It comes as a flat tarp with triangulated scores which fold at a pull of a connecting cord, turning it into a seat. A picnic chair, anyone?

pata comes flat

.

a cord that surrounds the tarp is pulled

.

….and becomes a chair

.

then the cord is tightened to retain the shape

Julyerna Koesmono, a student at the lasalle college of the arts in Singapore, designed this award-winning furniture for the island country’s annual furniture design award (FDA). The chromatic stool design with its overlapping strings , is inspired by the traditional string game of Ayatori or Cat’s Cradle. is reminiscent of the 1960′s string art

Pleat Farm would like to start the Spring season by showcasing the Nest Chair. In reference to the bird’s nest, Copenhagen-based designer Nina Bruun looped strips of birch in varying thicknesses to create the chair, and an upholstered cushion is thrown in to form a soft center. Nina’s idea was to create a graphical chaos while still maintaining a unified whole.

Nina Bruun’s Nest and FOLD chairs have been chosen by the jury of the annual SYDFORM competition/exhibition, and will be displayed at the FormDesign Center in Malmø, Sweden. The exhibition will continue in Karlskrona, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark in September.

Thanks to Nina for the images!

The Tetra Chair is designed by Julia Göransdotter who is currently studying at the Swedish School of Textiles. Conceived as a ‘transformable coal’, the chair’s malleability comes from its folding facets which allow the user to adjust his or her seating position. The Tetra Chair was exhibited at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010.

Thanks to cousin Tim Lui who brought this chair to attention!

Material: recyclable polyester felt over foam

Re:cover chairs by Swedish designer Fredrik Färg are a series of re-used chairs upgraded with folded felt backrests. Fredrik removes the backs of old chairs collected from flea markets, and re-dresses each one with a textile structure made from recyclable polyester felt.

The chair design was influenced by the classic tailoring of garments such as suits and jackets. The felt backrests can be taken off and shaped into fashion accessories.

images via designboom + Fredrik Färg

German-based design collective Dua recently sent images of the minimalist fold-able lounge chair designed by Arne Amtsfeld for the Dua Collection. The lounge chair is assembled from the folds of a single sheet of aluminium and leather, just like an origami.

Designer’s words:

A surface made of aluminium and leather turns into a lounge chair by folding a few times. It is manufactured in Germany and available in three different kinds of buffalo skin. In manufacture, recent computer-aided operations are paired with specific workmanship and generates individual items with a first-class finish and a personal note.

About the Dua Collection:

The Dua collection combines ideas from name designers (Alexander Esslinger, Sebastian Däschle, Arne Amstfeld, Chritian Poppel, Tobias Juretzek), who each have their own concepts of thinking and working. Dua gives insights into their basic research and creative powers. The production is based on the principle of short distances and personal contact in Germany. This rests upon the idea of economic and ecological balance. Thereby, recent computer-aided operations are paired with specialized manual skills. dua attaches great importance to the storyline of a design. Beyond that, dua acts as an interior decorator. By doing so, we design and realise — together with our partners from industry and art — living spaces and business premises, exhibitions, bars and stage designs.

Photography: Tanja Evers