Seoul design studio "Useful Studio" has created a furniture series made of aluminum plates that can be bent into curves using industrial machinery.
The useful workshop was led by designer Sukjin Moon, who worked with a factory in Incheon, South Korea, to realize the Curvature series using his metal pressing machine.
The furniture is developed from the prototyping process, in which the studio folds paper to model forms. Moon realized that the shapes created using this method could be scaled up and copied onto aluminum panels.
Moon explained: “The curvature series is the result of origami practice.” “We discovered a certain beauty in the original stage of the industrial design process and tried to show it as it is.”
"After deciding to use the metal folding process, consider the manufacturer's mold environment and available mold conditions, and constantly practice each curvature, radius and surface."
Furniture is made by bending aluminum plates using a bending machine. These machines usually use matched punches and dies to press the metal sheet into the desired shape.
Before developing furniture with simple curved contours, Moon talked with technicians in the factory to understand the tolerances of metals and machines, which can be created by bending the material in uniform increments.
The designer told Dezeen: "Each design has different curvatures and angles, but they all have their reasons, either due to manufacturing limitations or machine size limitations. This means I cannot draw very complicated curves. "
The first development was the curvature frame. The unit has a J-shaped folding assembly that can form the support of a shelf made of maple wood.
The hollow form of the shelf supports means they can be used to hide cables or other items. The modular system can also be easily expanded by adding more components.
Using the same bending technique to create a bench, the cross section at the rear of the seat is slightly raised. Insert three pieces of solid wood between the top and bottom surfaces to maintain the structure of the bench.
The characteristic of the curvature coffee table is a flat upper surface, which can be smoothly curved to form a support at either end. Only by careful inspection can the bulge on the pressed surface be found.
The last piece in the Curvature series is a chair, which Moon claims is also the most complicated chair. The table went through many iterations to determine the optimal proportions and curvature of the seat.
The chair uses simple aluminum legs to support the seat. Moon added that aluminum was chosen for environmental reasons because the material is 100% recyclable.
These pieces of furniture were displayed to emerging designers as part of the greenhouse section at the Stockholm Furniture and Lighting Fair.
Sukjin Moon graduated from the Royal College of Arts in London in 2012 with a Master of Arts design product course. His practice spans multiple disciplines, and he is always committed to creative research and practical prototyping.
Dezeen Weekly is a selected newsletter sent out every Thursday, which contains the main points of Dezeen. Dezeen Weekly subscribers will also receive occasional updates on events, competitions and breaking news.
We will only use your email address to send you the newsletter you requested. Without your consent, we will never disclose your details to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of each email or sending us an email to privacy@dezeen.com.
Dezeen Weekly is a selected newsletter sent out every Thursday, which contains the main points of Dezeen. Dezeen Weekly subscribers will also receive occasional updates on events, competitions and breaking news.
We will only use your email address to send you the newsletter you requested. Without your consent, we will never disclose your details to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of each email or sending us an email to privacy@dezeen.com.
Post time: Sep-27-2020