Space is a precious commodity, especially when you just don’t have a lot of it.
Big city apartments are often notoriously tiny. Offices are not always the most spacious of places.
Whatever your situation, chances are you’ve been in a tight squeeze at some point.
Nobody really likes to be constrained but limited space is what Hong Kong-based designer Mike Mak used as inspiration for Bookniture. Bookniture combines traditional bookbinding with origami to create a collapsible and portable piece of book furniture with a number of creative uses. Mak says on his website:
“As a designer based in one of the most densely populated city, living and working space here is extremely limited. Everybody would love to (and have to) utilize their home and make good use of every inch of the space … I love having friends at my place, but have never had enough seats for everyone. My guests and I would always end up just sitting on the floor. I really wanted a kind of seat that doesn’t take up any floor space when I don’t need it.”
Mak has already made something of a name for himself in the design world, winning the 2013 Hong Kong Young Talent Designer, Special Mention Award, among other accolades. His quirky and creative designs can be viewed on his website.
Mak started a Kickstarter campaign to launch Bookniture book furniture. His campaign has just recently wrapped up, snagging him more than $400,000 in pledges. This is impressive considering the paper seat isn’t exactly cheap, running around $80 apiece.
For more information on Bookniture book furniture, check out the Kickstarter video below:
Bookniture may be made out of paper but according to the Kickstater page it’s no push over. Mak claims his foldable book furniture can support over a ton in weight. Boasting this is possible with the use of composite heavy duty paper panels as well as the patent pending origami structure.
The book furniture design is minimalist and trendy. It folds up to look something like a notebook so it can be easily stored or carried. One of Bookniture’s selling points is its flexible use. Mak boasts it can be a chair, footrest, table, bench, and more.
It comes with a reversible felt disc that can be placed on top to create a table top or add comfort. A drawback is this felt disc doesn’t appear to be as portable as the furniture itself. It can’t be folded up with the furniture so if you want to take it with you, it will have to be carried separately.
Bookniture’s ability to take up so little space while looking good on a shelf could make it a popular product. It would be nice if the price came down. It’s the kind of thing you would want multiple of so a lower price tag would go a long way.
Image: Bookniture